How They Became Fast and Furious
by Darx
Summary: Letty had lived down the street from the Toretto's for years, they've been like family to her. But when a secret is revealed, will the family be able to overcome it? A prefatf fic about how everything came to be. DomLetty centric.
1. The gym fiasco

"This sucks ass"  
Mia laughed at her friend, commenting, "Letty, you love gym"  
"Loved, Mia, Past tense. I loved gym when I had a good gym partner." Letty explained, shutting her locker and starting down the hall with her friend.  
"I was never good in gym." the pretty freshman admitted.  
"Hey, I never said you were good at sports. You're just a better partner then the rest of the girls in that class. Plus, we're doing volleyball today with the guys. Why'd you have to switch gyms again?" the latino girl asked for the hundredth time.  
"I told you. I had to make time for Spanish. That was the only time there was space in a class for another student. Look, I gotta go. You'll be fine, I swear. See you after school. And Let, behave!" With that, Mia disppeared around the corner, leaving her friend to fend for herself.  
-  
After changing into the school's gym uniform of green shorts and an orange tee, Letty entered the gym. The girls milled around in groups, gosipin and laughing at anothers expense. Letty hated these girls, and they hated her. Their painted nails and their made-up faces meant nothing to her. Her nails were still dirty from shop class and the only makeup she wore was when Mia put it on her in her sleep. Her long dark hair was, as usual, pulled back in a hair band, a few strands too short ended up hanging around her face.  
When the guys came in the girls quickly made their attack, picking teams for the inevitable, yearly co-ed volleyball games. The teachers stood back what they must have figured was a safe distance as the girls coerced the boys onto their teams. The hottest, most athletic boys went first. Then the rest.  
Letty stood back, by herself, waiting to see who she got stuck with. Mia's absense left her isolated.  
Dom, however, didn't have the same problem. The muscular senior had girls around him, practically begging to be on his team. The guys, who kept score and who actually cared about winning (unlike most of the girls), weren't much better. Everyone wanted to be on a team with the great Dominic Toretto.  
Yet, despite this, Dom happened to notice Letty alone. So far his team consisted of two football jerks and a cheerleader with too blonde to be natural. Ignoring a pretty blonde beside him, Dom walked over to Letty.  
"Mia switched classes, right?" he asked.  
Letty shrugged but gave a small nod, "Yeah"  
"Well come on then! We don't have all day here Let. Get your ass over to my court. We've got an open spot and if you're as good as that big head of yours has made you believe then you better come help me win." Dominic acted like pissed, like she should have already known that he'd want her on his team, but she knew it was an act. He was just messing with her, like always. Making it look like he wasn't helping her out, when really, she was so relieved that he had.  
-  
"What the hell's your problem!" Letty demanded, approaching the volleyball net. The object of her rage was Missy Reigner, a Lawson High Varsity Volleyball player. It was the last period of the day, and Letty was back in the gym, making up yet another class that she'd missed due to absenteism.  
The blonde haired, blue eyed senior looked down her nose at the furious sophmore, sneering, "It's just a game Leticia. It's not my fault if you can't hit the ball"  
"That's a load of fucking bullshit! You spiked it at my face! Again!" the angry black haired girl flung back.  
By now their voices were rising, and people were starting to turn around to see what was going on. The gym teacher looked over, not yet realizing what all was happening.  
"So? What are you going to do, beat me with a wrench"  
The laugh that was expected to follow after the sarcastic suggestion never came. There wasn't time. Within seconds Letty had ducked under the net and flew into her opponent, fists flying. Girls started to scream and a circle was formed around the pair.  
The gym coach would soon seperate them, Letty would get sent home, possibly a day's suspension. Always the same. When asked later about the fight, Letty wouldn't remember much. Everything past that first hit was always a blur. -  
A.N.-Just a quick little bit of a story I wrote long ago, much more on the way and already written so it'll be up fast. Let me know what you think! 


	2. The unwanted discovery

Letty sat in the principle's office, or, more accurately, in front of the principles office; his never ending tyraid finally through. Of course, there was more of that to come at home.

Letty saw Mellisa walk by, out of the nurses office, her eye swollen. Before she had time to see her handiwork, though, a figure stepped in her line of vision. A BIG figure.

Looking up slowly, Letty grimaced as she took in the work boots, the dark jeans, the calloused hands at their sides. Suddenly, though, she sighed. She'd caught sight of the clean white shirt over those seemingly impossibly huge arms and wanted to cry in relief. Looking up, she saw Dom, his face stoney. Oh yeah, he was pissed. Better then the alternative, though.

"Dom?" When he didn't respond, she stood.

"Dom!"

"Grab your shit, Leticia." That was all he said before walking away. Letty picked up her bag and followed, for once obediant. As relieved as she was that Dom had been the one to come for her, she was not happy about how angry he was.

Dom led her out to the car, getting in and slamming his door. Letty was quieter, not wanting to upset him too much. She knew Dominic Toretto could never be so angry as to hurt her, but the Italian in him generously gave him a temper to rival her own.

Slamming the car into gear, Dom tore out of the parking lot. Seconds passed slowly as he drove, finally asking, "What the fuck did you do?"

Letty turned quickly to look at him. "Dom, she provoked me. I may have took the first swing but she spiked the ball at my head! She was just asking to start shit! And then that crack about the wrench, I mean I couldn't just sit there and let her verbally shit on me!" the girl defended herself.

"That's a flimsy ass excuse, Let. This is the third tiem this month. You're going to get yourself expelled. Jesus Let don't you want an education?" The young man asked, frustrated.

Ignoring his comment about expulsion, the girl declared, "I don't need to know about history or biology to fix a car."

"And that's good enough for you?! Let, you could go on to college, you could do anything and you're set on staying here and turning wrenches your whole damn life?"

The dark haired girl glared at him, her face stony. "It's good enough for you."

Dom sighed, he didn't know what to say to that. It was good enough for him. Cars were his first love. Then again, hadn't Letty been there in the garage with him and Vince and his father since the day she'd moved down the road? He remembered the day clearly. He was seven, and he was trying to help his dad swap out on engine on an old '68 Mustang, when this lanky little girl came up to him, asserting that her mom was inside talking to 'the woman who opened the door' and that she'd moved into her new house just down the road and they were practically neighbors and what were they doing? Tony, Dom's father, had willingly taken the kid under his wing, but Dom had been annoyed. Girls played with dolls, like his sister, Mia. They shouldn't be out getting dirty and working on cars. He and Vince had teased her unconditionally, occasionally begrudging her a few bits of knowledge. Over time, though, when they realized how much she actually did know, the teasing mellowed out to the occasional smart remark.

"Where are we going? You passed the garage!" the rebelious teen stated.

"You think you're working after that little stunt today? I don't think so. And don't even bother pulling the Tony card, he wouldn't be on your side on this one." Dom flew through the residential area, passing both houses and making a sharp right. "And I sure the hell can't bring your ass home now can I? That ugly ass brother of yours will ship your ass down to fucking Mexico if he finds out what you've been up to." Stopping at a red light, the older man didn't look at her as he questioned, somewhat softer, "So what the hell are we supposed to do with you, Leticia?"

Letty didn't answer, sullenly looking out the window, arms crossed across her chest. She watched as houses flew by, then slowly they began to thin out, until they were surrounded but nothing but the ocean on one side, rock on the other.

The italian finally pulled off into a small, deserted parking lot. Turning the car off, he looked out over the beach and the water beyond. They sat quietly for some time, Letty wondering what was coming next. Another one of Dom's famous, 'big brother lectures', as Mia called them?

Finally, he looked at her, stating, "You've got to stop this Letty."

Looking up at him abruptly, she was suprised at the tone of his voice. It was very un-Dom-like, quiet and almost pleading. No, that wasn't the word, Dom didn't beg or plead for anything. But it sounded something like it. Urging, maybe. "Dom-"

"I want this to stop."

"Well maybe you can't always get what you want Dom!"

"Damnit Letty, you can't do this! You can't keep getting into fights, you've gotta grow up and cut this shit or Carlos'll send you down to your grandmother! Is that what you want? To be stuck in some little old house in Mexico while all your friends are hanging out up here, racin' and partying?" No longer quiet, once again harsh, the man got angry.

"That's my problem Dominic not yours or anyone else's! I'll deal with Carlos I always have! I don't need anyone looking out for me alright!" she shot back, fury building behind her chocolate eyes.

"You'll deal with Carlos, like always! Obviously that hasn't worked for you so far! And what are you gonna do when he gets too drunk or too mad and you can't just make excuses! You can only fall down the stairs so many times before it starts to get suspicious!" Dom spat back, causing his female companion to physically recoil, as if struck.

Tears of anger in her eyes, Letty glared at him in shock and pain before throwing open her door and jumping out of the car. She stalked away from the car, starting down the beach. Dom exhaled sharply, letting out a roar of frustration before following suit.

"Letty! You can't just run away! We're miles from the closest anything!" he yelled after her, but she didn't turn or slow. Quickly gaining on her, he grabbed her arm and twirled her around to face him.

Unsuccessfully trying to pull out of his grasp, Letty demanded, "Let me go, Dominic!"

"No. You're not going anywhere. No more hiding or running. Face the facts, I know. I know that's why you've been getting into fights. All that anger you've got bottled up from your mother and your brother and the whole god damn screwed up world is just bursting its way out of you and those idiots at school just got unlucky enough to be the ones that got in its way."

The younger teen was breathing heavy, not wanting to admit that he was right, not wanting to admit what she knew he knew. She tried to pull away again, but not as insistantly. She didn't look at him as she asked quietly, her voice pained and angry "How long have you known?"

Letting her go, Dom replied, "I figured something was wrong end of last school year. The broken wrist. Again. You're not that clumsy, Let. But I didn't know for sure until today. That two day suspension you got for taking down that cheerleader, Lisa, Wednesday. We didn't see you all weekend but then you come in this morning lookin' all torn to hell, but she hadn't barely laid a hand on you from what I was told. That's when I knew."

"And you didn't say anything. Did you- have you told-"

"If I said anything to you at school you would've exploded at me and caused a scene and that's the last thing you needed. I havn't said anything to anyone but you. Jesus Let you gotta stop this."

"It's not like I try to get into shit, it's just that I get so pissed. Those people just...they drive me insane, Dom. And then I get home and Carlos gets pissed and says if I wanna fight I can fight him. That's the only time he really does anything, really. It's not a huge thing. You're not going to say anything. I swear to god Dom I don't care how big you are I'll beat you down if you do." Letty threatened, even though it was an empty threat.

"It is a huge thing! Leticia, it is a big deal. Do you know what I'd do to anyone who tries to hurt Mia? I'd murder them. I'd bash their heads in. You're like family to us. I'm not going to put up with any more of this. You've gotta do something about it."

Letty's heart had sunk when she heard this, she couldn't DO anything. Carlos was her only family left up here, she had no one to go to. Well, other then the man standing in front of her and his family. But what was she supposed to do? Turn her half brother in for assault when she had no proof, no one to live with, and she was too young to live on her own. She'd end up in Mexico with her grandmother who she loathed and she'd rather put up with the beatings then that. Besides, they weren't that bad. Yeah he hit her, but she did hit back, occasionally even connecting with skin. He wasn't even that bad usually, only when he was drunk or angry. There were times that he'd even been semi-nice to her. Not recently, but she'd been getting into a lot of shit at school recently. As long as she stayed out of the house as much as possible, she'd be okay. She had just over two years and she'd be eighteen, she could make it.

When she tried to impress these facts upon him, he got angrier. "No, Letty! Do you really like coming home to his fists? Do you like the trips to the hospital and making up new excuses for the broken bones and missed school? If you're not going to do anything, I will."

Letting go of her, he headed back to his car, the girl running behind. Yanking his door open, he was about to get in when she grabbed his arm. Glaring down at her, his hard eyes connected with her surprisingly desperate ones.

"Dominic please no you can't do anything! Please don't! I have no proof that he's done anything to me what am I supposed to do? You can't go do anything! You can't touch him you'll get thrown in jail and your family's already gone through enough! Please, it'll only make things worse." she pleaded, her don't-mess-with-me attitude all but gone.

"I can't just sit around and know that this is happening." he stated, his voice hard.

"Please. I won't get in any more fights, that'll keep him from doing anything I swear, it's really just the fights almost always! I won't let anything happen I swear! Don't do anything Dom." Letty begged, so unlike her normal self that she caught him off gaurd.

Dominic was silent for a moment, then stated his demands, not to be negotiated. "You swear to me that the second he lifts a finger against you you leave and you find me."

Letty nodded, relieved, "I swear Dom. I swear."


	3. Curiousity Killed the Cat

Carlos didn't suspect a thing when Dom dropped Letty off at the time she normally got home. They'd drove around for awhile after their little 'chat', then went back to the Toretto house, wasting time so Carlos wouldn't figure out that she'd left school early.

Letty quickly passed her half brother and his friends that were sprawled all over her parents living room. When her father died he'd simply came in and taken over, receiving nearly everything in the will. All that Letty had seen of her older brother before that point had been holidays, when he'd been nice to her, but distant. So when, at age ten, she'd found out that he was coming to 'take care' of her, she'd been relieved. He would be better then her grandmother, she figured, who'd been watching her for the last few weeks, but who had to go back to her home in Mexico. She was okay, but she was old and couldn't do much. And she smelled like mothballs and broccolli. Young Letty had hoped that her brother wouldn't smell like vegetables. The last thing she expected was to end up with an abusive drunk.

Going into her room and closing the door, the teen threw her bag down and stripped off her shirt so she wore only a tank over her faded jeans. For late October, it was really warm out. She crossed to her bed, a blue blanketed twin with a white headboard. Flopping down upon it, she stared at the glow in the dark stars still stuck on the ceiling. She, Mia, and her had spent an entire day sticking them up, making up constellations and designs, real and their own. Letty had gotten the idea into her head that she needed the stars after a camping trip the three of them had made along with Dom and Tony. Tony had made them lay out one night and showed them all these different constallations, but later, when the three kids had tried to show their friends, they couldn't remember all of them. So instead, they'd made up their own. Letty's faverite had been Dom's nine star V-8 engine.

Coming back to the present, the girl sat up, looking around at her small room. Her desk sat kiddy-corner by the door, car magazines opened to various pages and articles all over the top, tons more stacked in the drawers. A few pictures in frames sat on the desk and her white nightstand. Blue curtains to match the blue shag rug, the walls a light yellow. A white dresser and a bookshelf filled with car models, and a red tool box, the only thing her father had left her. Not that she complained. He didn't really have anything besides the house to leave, and he thought his son was kind and responsible. Despite not having a whole lot of furniture, and needing to be repainted, her room didn't look that bad, she figured. Not that anyone ever really saw it. The only girl she'd ever had stay the night was Mia, and she hadn't invited her over since Mia hit fourteen and she'd seen the way her brother had looked at her. She was a very pretty girl, slender, with long dark hair and those dark eyes, and Letty didn't want to tempt her brother to try something. Dom and Vince had been in her room a few times when she was younger, but not in years. Crossing to the window, the dark haired teen noticed that the sun was already setting. It was getting to be late in the year, and soon she'd have to deal with the whole christmas vacation with her brother.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Letty grabbed her bag and sat at her desk, intent upon actually doing some homework for once. She began earnestly, but eventually, her mind began to wander back to the vacation.

But Christmas would bring a welcome break from the hell that her school days consisted of. No more bitchy girls and hotshot guys. Just hanging out with the Mia, Dom, Vince, and their new friends Leon and Jesse, working at the garage, and the Toretto's annual Christmas party. That was one of her faverite days of the year. On Christmas eve every year, Tony threw a big bash at the house. This would be the tenth year she'd gone, but the first few years she'd passed out before things got good. It always started early, with friends and family and a bunch of the neighborhood kids. Tony's father came dressed up in the whole santa outfit for the kids and everything. But as the kids started passing out, the parents would either put them in the guest rooms upstairs or they would go home, leaving the adults to have their own party. While this was going on, Dominic and all his friends were allowed to have the back yard to themselves to do as they wished, so long as they didn't disturb the adults or get too loud and rowdy. Dom had finally allowed her and Mia to come out last year, when she was fourteen and Mia, thirteen. They'd been so excited, but they'd ended up back inside quickly when Tony came out and saw them just as one of the older boys was offering Mia a beer. Of course, straight-laced Mia wouldn't have taken it, but it scared Tony enough to get them relegated to the upstairs. But this year would be different. Tony had said that if Dom and Vince promised to watch out for them, then they could go. From the time she'd heard that way back in September, she'd been looking forward to it. She loved hanging out with Dom and the guys, and it made her feel so dumb to be kept upstairs with the kids.

She never felt dumb around the guys though. Oh sure, maybe when she was little and didn't know anything, but not anymore. At school she struggled with grades, at home she always had Carlos to make her feel like crap and tell her how worthless she was, but when she stepped foot in that garage, oh she got the greatest feeling. It's that feeling of realizing that she was good at something. Not just good, but _really good_. And the guys respected her for that, and they valued her opinion, and they made her feel that she was smart, that what she had to say was important. Of course, none of their opinions mattered as much as Dom's. Since the time she'd first seen him when she was this scrawny little five year old, he'd had her heart. Oh she would never admit it, of course. She was in what she considered 'the sister spot'. She was just another Mia, but less girly and more trouble. She didn't really mind, though. Just being able to be a part of their 'family' was good enough for her. She needed them, because she sure the heck didn't get the kind of family she'd like outta her brother.

That thought made her realize something. It was really, really quiet. That was odd. It was almost nine. Usually by now Carlos and his friends would be getting drunk. She should be able to hear them. Maybe they were just quiet because they'd gotten high or somthing, she wasn't sure. She fought with her curiosity but, as usual, the natural female curiosity won out. She couldn't help thinking about that quote her grandmother always used to say: Curiousity killed the cat. But didn't knowledge bring it back? She had lots of knowledge, she reasoned. Opening her door slowly,she peeked into the hallway. It was dark and her brother's door was closed. Creeping out into the hallway, she padded silently to the end of the hall, where there was a section of banister before the stairs. She kneeled down and looked under the bottom of the banister, hoping no one would notice.

There were a few people in the kitchen, she could see, and but her brother wasn't amoung of them. So that's why she hadn't heard them. Her bedroom was above the living room, which was empty, and she wouldn't be able to hear them in the kitchen. She waited a few more minutes, wondering how many people were there and where her brother could be. She almost didn't hear someone come up behind her, but she did and stood at the last second, ready to bolt.

Unfortunately for her, she wasn't fast enough. Carlos grabbed her arm and swung her back against the wall, slamming her head of it. She let out a shocked squel of pain, and he grabbed both her arms, holding her in front of him.

"So you got in ANOTHER fight today, Letitia? I got a call from your PRINCIPLE to come get your sorry ass! And when I say you ain't my problem, you know what that shit does?! He tells me he thinks that we should have a MEETING to find out why you're so FUCKED UP! He thinks that you may have a bad HOME LIFE! God damn it I break my back keeping a roof over your sorry ass and this is how you REPAY me?! You are lucky to even HAVE a home! You're lucky you're not in some foster home or military school!" As he yelled at her with his alcohal-smelling breath, she attempted to break free of his grasp, but he held firm.

"Where the HELL do you think you're going?! I'm not done with you yet! God damn it Letty you're just like your whore mother! Dumb skank couldn't even get her ass off drugs long enough to teach you how to behave! Well if you're gonna live in my house you're gonna learn god damnit!"

"It's not your house! It's Dad's and if he'd known how much of a failure and a drunk you are you wouldn't even be here!" Letty lashed out, yanking free and darting around him for her room. She jumped inside and slammed the door, grabbing for her bag and quickly crossing to the window. Even as she tried to get the old window unstuck, she knew she wouldn't make it.

Her brother slammed through the door. "Trying to run away?! I swear to god i'm gonna beat some sense into you yet!." the girl ducked as he lunged at her, scooting under his right hook, trying to head for the door. Before she could, Carlos grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back, causing her to cry out as something popped. She turned on him and kneed him in the stomach, but he recovered quickly, grabbing her around the waist as he straightened and slamming her back into her open closet door, which she promply fell into. Cornered, she felt around madly for something, anything, she could use to fight him off. She suddenly remembered something. Reaching into the corner of the closet and pulling up the carpet, she uncovered a small swiss army knife. She grabbed it just as he grabbed her calfs and slid her out of the closet.

Turning the knife on him, Letty tried slashing at his leg, not wanting to hurt him too much but knowing she needed to get away. Her plan backfired when he slammed his sneaker into her side and tried to wrestle it out of her hands. Groaning, Letty tried to keep the knife turned away from her, kicking her legs at the back of Carlos' knees, trying to get him to fall. He did, but as he was leaning over her the force of he fall slammed his hand, knife and all, periously close to her stomach. She flinched, loosening her hold just enough that he took the advantage and pulled the knife up from where it had stuck in the ground. She slid quickly up, attempting to stand before he noticed but he brandished the knife at her.

"You want this?!" He slashed at her madly, but she didn't know if he was serious or trying to scare her cause he never moved closer. Quickly, she thought about her options. One; try to run, two; get slashed apart. Hm, tough desicion. But as she went to move to the left he moved to his right, trying to block the door from her and succeeding in cutting a gash in her side. Gasping, she jumped back, and his eyes went wide,

Dropping the knife, the man looked stunned, like he didn't realize what had happened. "Let! Why the hell do you have a knife! Look what you did you stupid fuck!" With that, he left the room, drunkenly muttering about girls and knives and god knows what, slamming the door behind him.

Letty stood in the corner, breathing hard. She ran her hand along her side, and brought it away smeared with blood. Looking down, she painfully peeled her red tank away from her body, wincing as it stuck. She got it just above the cut and stopped. There wasn't too much blood, so she figured it couldn't be that deep. Pulling her shirt off the rest of the way, she went to her closet and quickly grabbed another, less form-fitting beater. The teen was in pain, her side was developing a nasty bruise and her shoulder ached. The cut didn't take up a whole lot of her attention once it stopped bleeding.

She went to the window and strained to get it open, finally sliding it into place. Placing a long, thin block of wood to prop it up, she stuck her head out. Seeing that the coast was clear, Letty sat on the ledge and swung her legs out, dropping halfway out of the window and twisting her lower half until her feet found the latticwork that was against the side of the house. Quickly climbing down the wall, she dropped to the ground and crept around the side of the house, staying in the shadows. Once she hit the sidewalk, she took off. She ran as fast as she could all the way down the street and crossed the road, rounding the corner and ducking into the side yard of a large white house. She sprinted into the backyard and stopped a moment, catching her breath. The young teen stepped onto the back porch, aware of the lack of cars in the driveway, and the front poch light on. No one was home, she knew. It was then that she remembered Tony had a meeting with some big sponser, and that meant Mia probably went to her grandmother's. Well, Dom'd be home eventually, she figured, and if not, it was still better then staying at her own house. Nobody would mind, she knew. She climbed up onto the railing and grabbed the edge of the porch roof. Fitting the toe of her sneaker into the notch that Dom had made in one of the supports long ago, she boosted herself up onto the slanted roof. She carefully crawled across the roof, almost slipping once when one of the shingles came loose. Coming to a window, she grabbed the bottom of it, thanking god that it had been left partially open. Sliding it up and slipping inside, she stood, finally able to breath normally. She looked around, seeing the black bed, the cars magazines stacked against the wall, and the lack of any femininity in the room as a whole, realized that she was in Dom's room. She thought finally about the promise that she'd made to him. 'You swear to me that the second he lifts a finger against you you leave and you find me.' Well, she couldn't exactly find him, and when she'd swore to it she didn't think THIS would happen. Today was bad, she'd admit that, it wasn't usually like this. It was because Carlos had been drinking, and once he realized what he'd done, hadn't he stopped? She coulda handled herself, she thought.

Taking off her shoes, she pulled back the heavy black comforter off his bed and climbed in between the satiny sheets. She sighed, safe and exhausted even though it wasn't even nine thirty. The girl turned her face into the soft pillow, breathing deeply, inhaling her hero's scent. That's really what he'd became to her over the years, a hero, someone to put on a pedestal. Oh sure, he made some mistakes, but he was still her equivilant of a god. He knew everything about cars, he drove like a pro racer, and he drove a '93 rx-7. True, it wasn't up to it's full potential yet, but they were working on it. Not to mention the fact that he always watched out for her. Begrudgingly at first, always complaining about making sure 'Mia's little friend' didn't get into trouble, but eventually it had become second nature to him. Letty figured that's why he'd made her swear to go to him. No matter how tough and mean Dom could seem, he had a heart that beat just like everyone else, and he had always been the one to need to protect everything that was 'his'. Whether that meant his friends, his family, or his car.

Soon after hitting the bed, Letty fell into a deep sleep, comforted by the thought that Carlos was no where near her. Growing up with that for the later part of her life made her used to the fights, and she could deal with them generally. It was the night that she feared, though, always afraid that he'd come into her room and start in on her when she was at her most vulnerable, asleep. He'd only done it once, when he'd found out that she'd broken one of the neighbors windows when she and some neighborhood kids had been playing baseball. He'd came into her room and started to hit her, waking her forcefully and dragging her out of bed. He'd beat the then twelve year old worse then ever before, that was the first time he left her with very visable evidence of his anger. Up until then it was a slap here or a yank there, nothing to bad. She'd told Mia that she got in a fight with one of the boys in the baseball game. The lies ended up coming too easy after that.

Dom entered his house at one thirty, a busty blond on his arm. She was giggling, and he laughed. Leading her up the stairs, he opened the door to his bedroom and flicked on the light. The sudden murmer from his bed surprised him, and he turned from the girl to look at who had taken up residence in his room.

"What the hell? Dom, who the hell is that?" the blond demanded, and he closed the door.

"Family emergancy. Go home." he gruffly stated, not really caring if she got pissed.

"What! I left the party for you and you tell me to go home?" she exclaimed.

"Call your friend, I'm sure he'll come bring you back."

With that, the blond stomped down the stairs, swearing the whole way about 'the legend' Dominic Toretto.

Dominic entered his room and closed the door behind him. Why the hell was Letty in his bed? "Letty!" he barked.

The girl barely stirred.

Growling at his loss of his fuck, he went over to the bed and took her shoulder, about to shke her awake, when she cryed out and he let go, as if burned. Looking closely at her shoulder, he saw it was slightly swollen and had a dark, purple-ish bruise forming around it. Angry, he looked up at her face, seeing her eyes flutter open. She looked up at him innocently.

"Dom. Hi."

"What the hell happened Letitia? What the hell did he do now? Get up." he ordered, and she frowned, mad at having to leave her comfy spot. She scooted off the other side of the bed, distancing them.

"He found out about the fight. The school wants him to go in for a meeting. To see why I'm so fucked up. They think that it's got to do with my home life." she couldn't help but want to laugh at that. No, her home life didn't have ANYTHING to do with it.

Dom was angry at himself. He knew that her brother hit her but he'd let her go back. Obviously it was more serious then she'd let on. He looked at her shoulder and his anger intensified. His hands balled into fists and he wanted nothing more then to go to her house and beat the living shit out of the scum that she called a brother. What was worse was that she didn't seem to think it was that bad. How long had this gone on that she thought it was just how things had to be?

"Where is he?" he demanded.

Letty saw the look in her friend's eyes and clammed up, not wanting him to do anything to get himself or her in trouble. "You can't Dom, don't do anything stupid. And he's not home, he probably went out to get more beer."

"You're lying. I know he's there. That mother fucker should've never laid his hands on you." he stated, heading out his door and down the stairs. Letty, terrified about what he was going to do, followed him.

"Dominic, don't DO this! He's not worth it! Stop!" she tried, grabbing his arm when he reached the door.

Pulling his arm away, he barked, "Stay here!"

She did as he asked for only a moment, until she heard the roar of his car starting up. Running out after him, she watched it drive down the street and turn the corner. She took off, speeding down the road after the red import.

By the time she reached her house, she could hear yells from inside and glass breaking. Running inside, she saw her brother and Dominic, fighting in the middle of her living room, his friends in a semi circle around them. Carlos looked as if he was on the losing end of the battle, and when she saw Dom's face she knew that she had to stop them or her brother would be in some serious danger.

"Dominic! Stop!" she screamed, but he didn't respond. He punched Carlos in the stomach and slammed him back into a wall, to which the older man responded with a right hook, catching Dom in the jaw.

Not knowing what to do, Letty ran back outside, sprinting across the road and knocking hard on the door. A rumpled looking Hector opened the door, the twenty year old looking down at the girl and greeted, "Hey little Mami. What you need?"

Hector was the only one allowed to get away with calling her that. He was a friend of Dom's and had known her since she was six.

"It's Dom, he's fighting Carlos and I can't get them to stop." she informed him, and he quickly became serious, calling to his younger brother Jorge and the two ran across the road, the girl hot on their heels.

Entering the house once again, the brothers quickly pulled the men apart, Hector yelling at Dom to stop his shit. Throwing Carlos to the ground, Jorge helped his brother to get the fuming italian outside. Letty took a last look at her mottled brother, and, seeing the look of hatred he directed at her, she slammed the door shut after her.

"What the hell Dominic? You're gonna get your sorry ass arrested man! Get back in your car, and go home. I don't care what your reason is. If I see you over here again I'm calling the cops. I'd rather have you arrested for asault and battery then murder. Now go!" Hector ordered, for once standing up to his friend. He would never usually tell the man what to do, but tonight, he was in no condition to be making his own decisions.

To the girl's immense surprise, the mechanic actually did get back into his car, yelling to Letty to get her ass in the other side.

When they made it back to his house, Dom sat got out of the car and waited for her to come around to him. "Letty. You should have called my cell."

"Are you kidding! I shouldn't have told you at all! Dom you're going to get put in jail!"

"HE should be in jail!" the man stated.

"I don't care! Whether he's in jail or not that won't make a difference if you are!"

"If he goes down with me right now I'm not worried about me!"

"Well maybe I am!" Letty screamed at him, and his face softened a little, and she took a deep, shakey breath. "Maybe I'm worried, Dominic, because we need you, out here, not in jail." If he caught her real messege, that she was the one who needed him, he didn't let on.

After a moment of silence, the tall teen led her to the door, opening it for her and following her in.

Sitting on the couch, she relaxed slightly, the threat of him going back to her house virtually gone.

"You know you've got to get your shoulder looked at." Dom quietly told her, walking into the kitchen for a beer. He needed it right now.

"Nah, I think it's just bruised, it'll heal." the girl replied.

"It's dislocated, I did the same thing two years ago. Is that all he did this time?" he sounded old for his age, and tired. Sitting in the recliner across from her, he studied her.

"Just some bruises." she lied.

"And the blood on your hand?" he asked, much to her chargrin. She'd forgotten to clean if off in her hurried escape.

"I took my swiss army knife to him, but he got it away from me. Just a gash in my side, it's not deep. It'll heal fine." she answered. This was all second nature to her, figureing out what needed medical attention and what could heal itself.

"Jesus Christ Let. What the hell am I supposed to do about this?" Leaning forward in his chair, Dom ran a hand over his smooth head, a sure sign of his frustration.

"Nothing, Dom please just, for now, leave it alone. It's late, you have school in the morning, and you look like shit." Letty bluntly stated, making him grin for a moment.

"I don't know how you do it Letty. How you deal. Fuckin' toughest kid I've ever seen. You're also a brat by the way, and you don't look to great yourself." the italian retorted.

"Dom, I will always look better then you. Now go to bed."

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	4. Quedate Conmigo

Letty went straight to Mia's room, giving Dom back his own. She curled up under the light pink sheets and sighed. What a day. She didn't know what would happen now, she knew that after what happened tonight things couldn't be the same again. What would happen? Would she get sent to her grandmothers, seperated from the only people who really mattered to her? The thought made her shiver, and she realized that it wasn't just her thoughts. It'd gotten cooler and a breeze passed through Mia's partially opened window. Pulling up her friends comforter, she settled back again, thinking. She couldn't bear to leave the Toretto's, or even Vince, big lug that he was. She knew that if Carlos did get charged with something or even get jail time, she wouldn't be allowed to stay in her own house, the house that'd been her home for nearly eleven years. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving.

With these thoughts buzzing around her brain, it was impossible to get to sleep. Getting out of bed, the latino left the pink room and headed down the stairs, quietly so an not to wake her 'hero'. Thank god for the fact that she knew the house by heart, because she couldn't turn on any lights until she reached the living room. But the full moon was bright, and she left the lights off. As she went to sit on the couch she jumped, startled by the set of eyes on her. Dom sat in the same recliner he'd been in when she'd went upstairs, but she could have swore he'd followed her up. Yet here he sat, wide awake, one hand occupied with a beer and the other laying on the arm, the knuckles red and slightly swollen. She saw a dark bruise forming on his jaw and instantly felt responsible for it.

"Dom, what are you doing up still?" Letty asked, dropping down onto the couch.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I couldn't sleep. Insomnia, I guess." she joked.

"Please Letty. You're not an insomniac you sleep like a fucking rock." the italian stated, poking fun at her.

"Oh ha ha yeah make fun of me okay. Real mature Dominic. Wait til I tell your dad that you we're picking on an injured girl." It had meant to be a joke, but his face got stoney again. Wow, he was taking this worse then she was. Then again, this was all pretty new to him. "Look Dom, I was kidding."

"I know." he said, but the mood stayed low.

After a moment, she asked, "Dom, what's gonna happen now?"

It had been on her mind all night, but she hadn't had the courage to ask. She didn't want him to see that she was worried. She didn't want him to think she was scared. She was too tough for that. Leticia Damita Rodriguez didn't get scared.

But she was, she was. Deep down in her soul, she had always been scared. The knawing fear that had lingered hidden there for years now began its slow rise up into her body, and tendrils of it worked into every corner of her being. It pushed at her mind, trying to be let out, but she tried to push it away. She wouldn't acknowledge that fear because that would make it real. And if it was real, she wouldn't be able to be strong anymore, because she would fall apart.

Dominic knew. He had seen it, right behind her eyes. She couldn't hide it from him, not anymore. "Letty." he soothed, his voice quiet. He saw right through her and knew that the hold she had on her tough facade was precariously close to being lost. When she looked into his eyes, the mask fell to pieces and she broke down. What escaped her wasn't the slow, gradual tears of someone who knew what had been coming, but a tearing, painful sob. The kind of real fear and pain, the stuff of children who've lost parents, and lovers forever seperated.

Yet, Dom didn't move. He saw one of the people he cared for most in the world in so much pain, but he stayed where he was. He watched her cry, watched the sobs wrack her body and saw her cover her face. But he didn't move, because he knew Letty as well as he knew himself, and he knew that even in her most vulnerable time, you had to let her come to you. When an animal is hurt, if you approach it, it attacks. But if you just wait, show that you're not going to endanger it, and have patience, it will come to you. The young latino was the same way. So he stayed where he was, and he waited. It hurt him to see his tough little Letty fall to pieces in front of him and not be able to do anything, but he waited.

Letty could feel all the pain she'd hidden for years clawing its way out of her. All the suffering, the hurt, the embarrasment and the fear. It escaped and she sobbed harder at the fact that now the one person she cared about most would see her at her weakest and things would never be the same. But she just couldn't stop the flow of emotions, she felt like there was a tornado inside of her and it was out of her control. When she dared to look over at her friend, she saw him watching her. But he didn't look angry, or disappointed, or disgusted. His eyes were dark, but they didn't hold anything she'd feared. And she knew. He was there for her, even now, when she lost control. And that feeling of knowing that she wasn't alone, had never been completely alone, entered her heart and clung there.

When she forced her feelings back down as best she could, she calmed some. Rising, the raven haired teen approached Dom, standing in front of the chair. He slowly set his beer down and straightened back up, letting her do whatever she wanted. Letty caught his eyes and just stared at him for a minute, lost in them. Then, breaking eye contact, she stepped closer, between his legs, bending over to touch her forehead to his, and sighed. She said his name, but he knew she didn't want a response. She stood back up and sat down, curling up in his lap, head on his shoulder. Now that she had made the first move, Dom knew he was safe to comfort her. Wrapping his left arm around her back, he took her hand in his right. The last time they'd sat like this was when her father had died. After that, she got hard. She put up a brick wall and had rarely let anyone, even him, see her real emotions.

In his arms, Letty felt safe. He always made her feel safe. And with that thought, the tears came back, full force. She sobbed into his shirt and he held her, careful of her shoulder. He didn't try to quiet her, but he did tell her that everything would be alright. He let her cry herself out, and then she just sat there, her breathing heavy. Finally, he answered her question, "I don't know what's gonna happen, Let."

"I don't want to leave." Letty declared softly. "Am I going to have to go to my grandmothers?" He heard her sniffle and he tightened his hold on her.

"No, Letty. You're not going anywhere." Dom's heart ached for the poor girl.

"I don't want to leave you." she stated, and then quickly added, "All of you."

Pulling her back to look into her eyes, the older boy stated, "Letty, you're not going anywhere. I promise Let, you're not going anywhere."

Studying him for a moment, she laid back onto his chest, and barely heard him add, "I've got you, tigrotta mia. I won't let them take you."

When Dominic next looked at the clock, it was well after three in the morning. Standing up with Letty in his arms, he ascended the stairs, pushing open the door to his little sisters room. Setting the girl down gently on the bed, he almost laughed as he noted how out of place the young mechanic looked. In her dark beater and old jeans, Letty looked anything but like the princess his father had fashioned Mia's room for. As he stood back up and headed for the door, her heard her moan. Turning, he watched her for a moment, assuring himself she was fine. Turning to leave once more, he heard her mumble, "Quedate Conmigo."

Walking back to the bed, he looked down at her, and in her semi-consious state, she added,"No me dejos. Quedate."

The eighteen year old sat on the bed and sighed. What _was_ gonna happen? He wished he had the answers for her, and for him. He wouldn't let anyone take her away, it would kill his sister. Hell, it would kill all of them. Whether they liked it or not, the tough little girl with a wrench in hand had won them all over a long time ago, and became one of their own. She kept the peace between brother and sister the rare times when they didn't get along on their own, and she stood up for Mia when she'd had problems at school. When Dominic thought he knew everything his father could teach him and became more interested in friends and girls then family, she became Tony's little prodigy, his enthusiastic student. When Dom's mother had passed away, she was there for them all, helping around the house and cooking for them, despite being slightly domestically challenged. It'd been thanks to her tutoring that Vince had passed Spanish for all those years. Hard ass little Letty had even been the one to befriend Leon, and she understood the way Jesse's mind worked. He couldn't let anyone take her from them.

He looked at her and she mumbled again, repeating her demands. Dominic relented, but picked her up and brought her with him. No way in hell was he sleeping in a pink bed.


	5. Strange Feelings

The sun had just began to rise when Dom woke up in the morning. He gradually entered reality, not wanting to enter conciousness. To his dismay, it came and hit him like a ton of bricks when he looked down and found Letty curled up against his side. Her head was on his shoulder, his arm behind her head. The night before came back to him quick, and he felt anger rise within him again. Carlos had to be dealt with before Dom finished the job he'd started the night before. He didn't think anything'd be able to stop him if he got the chance to see him again.

As he looked down at his friend once again, he smiled. She looked so innocent, her hair spread across his arm, her face peaceful for once. Her tan skin was unusually unmarked, except for the deep bruise around her shoulder. They'd get that checked today, he made a mental note. He looked at her face and was suddenly struck by a strange thought. He'd never noticed when it'd happened, but Letty'd grown up, and she was beautiful. Sure, she'd been a cute kid, but she'd been gangly and always covered in dirt and grease from working on cars and playing with the boys. But now, at almost 16, he noticed for the first time how soft and smooth her dark hair was. He saw how her bronze skin glowed and realized how her lips curved just slightly into a smile. Well, at least when she was asleep. Shaking himself, he threw the thoughts from his head. What did it matter what she looked like? This was Letty, not some whore to fuck. That thought, combined with his previous ones, made him think things he'd never dreamed would be running through his mind.

"Oh jesus." he growled, trying again to shake the thoughts from his mind. He gently tried pulling away from the girl on his shoulder, but she just snuggled in deeper, her arm draping across his chest. He groaned, and, lifting her slightly, he moved away. Settling back into the sheet, Letty didn't wake up, but then he figured she wouldn't. Not even the roar of a fighter jet could wake her up.

Standing, he looked down at her, and entered the bathroom connected to his room. For some reason, he felt uneasy suddenly. Not being able to place his finger on it, he got into the shower and turned on the hot water, letting it fall over him, soothing his sore muscles.

Try as he might, he couldn't get over his uneasiness. Once he was dressed and shaved, he looked down at his clothes from the day before. That's when he noticed it. Bending over, he picked up his white shirt and stared for a moment at the large stain on it. Racing into the other room, he pulled the latina up off the bed, pulling her shoulder unintentionally. She cried out and opened her eyes for a moment, but they fluttered shut again. Her face was pale, and on her dark brown shirt was an even darker stain. Pulling the shirt up, he saw her white tank soaked in blood. He lifted the tank as much as he could but it stuck to her skin and resisted. Getting it up enough to see the wound, he swore. There was a large, nasty gash on her side. He didn't know how long it had been bleeding for, but it had obviously been a while. Trying to wake her, which in itself was a normally impossible task, he shook her, roughly. She didn't wake and he quickly picked her up, rushing out to his car, barely remembering to grab the keys on the way.

He flew to the hospital, parking outside the emergancy room and running inside. She hadn't woken yet and when they woman at the desk saw him enter, she called someone right away to come to take her. Two men came with a gurney and immediately laid her on it, wheeling her away. Dom wanted to go with her but they stopped him, asking him a whole bunch of questions. What had happened, how, who was she, who was he, was she allergic to anything, did he know her contacts?

Dom got frustrated and barked, "She was in a fight! Her name's Leticia Rodriguez, she's not allergic to anything, and her brother's not home. He can't be reached." He didn't know what made him lie, but he knew that Letty would want this handled by someone she trusted, not some 'concerned' nurse or doctor who didn't know her or her situation.

The nurses questioning him gave each other a look and then one went away to behind the desk, picking up the phone. The other, a young blonde woman, stated, "You're going to need to calm down. I need you to take a seat over there until we call you Mr..."

"Toretto. Dominic Toretto." He stated, which she wrote down and left, watching him from the corner of her eye as he slumped into a chair, pulling out his phone and calling his father.

It had taken hours, but Letty had finally been released, after vehemently insisting that Dom hadn't done anything to her and she wasn't going to say anything about what happened. It was her body, and if she didn't want to tell them how she'd been hurt that was her perrogative, she'd angrily stated. This didn't go over well, but they'd let her leave anyway.

Getting into the car, her side bandaged and her left arm in a sling, Letty looked at Dom. "Thank you." she said quietly.

Looking at her as he started the car, he asked, "For what?"

She looked down at her lap, "This. For not saying anything. Just...for being there."

"Letty, don't think about it. I'm always here, alright? But we've gotta do something about this. It can't go on." he told her, and she nodded.

"I don't know what to do."

"I think I do. But look don't worry about it for now. Let's go home, alright?"

"Dom what about school?"

"Like I'm going to go to school and leave you alone in my house? Yeah right, Let. I don't need you burning my father's house down." he joked.

"Okay, you know what Dom, fuck you! It was one goddamn time!" she flung back, and he laughed as he drove away from the hospital.

When they arrived back at the Toretto house, Letty fell onto the couch and sighed. "Jesus Christ. This is gonna be a long day."

"Yeah." Dom agreed, a short, bitter laugh escaping his lips. He went into the kitchen and got a beer, earning a look of rebuke from the girl on the couch. "What the hell Let. Get that look of your face you're not my mother."

"Dom it's not even noon."

"Yeah, and I've already had to deal with an abusive bastard and take his sister to the fucking hospital! I need a fucking beer alright?" he sighed, rubbing his hand over his head and collapsed into the chair. "Sorry but I don't need you on my back right now. It's just a beer. It's not like I'm getting high."

"Yeah, whatever." Letty bit off, looking away. She stayed quiet for a second, then asked, "So?"

Dom let out a breath, "So what Leticia?"

She could tell he was getting annoyed.

"So what's the plan? I mean, you said you knew what to do." she prodded.

The italian teen got up and walked to the window, looking out for a moment before asking, "You won't let do something legally?" He already knew her answer.

"Hell no. That's how I got where I am. I don't want any cops or civil service people sniffin' around me. If that was your plan Dom-" her voice had started to rise before he cut her off.

"Shut it Letty that wasn't it. You think I don't know you well enough to figure that out. Hell, dad was the one who said it."

Letty's head whipped up to look at him, eyes daggers, "You told Tony!"

"Well jesus Let! I had to! You're only fifteen! I don't know how these things work alright? We've gotta tread lightly here. Once you turn sixteen it won't be as much of an issue, but for now-"

"What won't be?" the younger teen questioned.

"You living here."

Letty was in shock. "You mean- wha- what did Tony say? Can I even do that?"

"You're here most of the time anyway, girl. Dad agreed that that may be your only option for now. As long as your brother doesn't report you as kidnapped or some shit, which knowing Carlos he won't even know you're gone, then you can. If that's what you want." he added, but he knew she would jump at the chance.

Still not over the shock of realizing that she could actually do that, that she could get away from her brother and still stay with her 'family', she was quiet. But at Dom's repeated question, her face changed, and she smiled slightly as she snapped, "What do you think? Fuck Dom. For being a Toretto you're fuckin' stupid."

Oh yeah. Living in the Toretto household would definetly be an improvement.

A.N.-okay so i've been cranking out chapters like crazy cause im on Christmas break til Jan.20. As soon as this is posted I'm finishing the next one i've already started, then updating my old riddick story.

oh and Nikki! i'm so sorry i forgot to post those translations!haha i don't speak Spanish either so you'd think I'd remember, but nope! haha Tigrotta mia means my little tiger is Italian, i thought it was appropriate cause the first word letty brings to my mind is hellcat lol. and as for the Spanish, Quedate conmigo means stay with me, no me dejos is don't leave, and i think thats all i used


	6. The girl I

It had been a month since Letty had moved in with her friends. The guest bedroom was made into her room, and Mia and she'd had a great time painting it because (according to Mia) 'white just did NOT say Letty Rodriguez'. Apparently, red did, because that was what she ended up with. Red walls, a red and silver checkerboard pattern on the ceiling, and silver curtains. God knows where Mia'd found silver curtians, but she did. She'd also found a full length mirror in a silver frame and silver satin sheets for the queen sized bed. These, along with her old dresser (which Mia had also decided needed to be silver) made the room much more Letty-friendly. Of course, getting her dresser and clothes and things could have been quite the ordeal, but Tony called Carlos ahead of time and informed him exactly how things were going to be from then on. Carlos, needless to say, was not home when they went by the house. Thus, Letty was able to easily get the things she couldn't bear to leave behind. And, between the two of them, Tony and Letty had managed to get her father's toolbox out into Tony's truck, and it now resided in a place of honor at the shop.

Letty'd been out of the sling for two weeks now, to her relief, and her side had healed fully, despite a light pink scar that ran along her side. Things had slowly gotten back to normal. Mia had been told only what was necessary, because Letty didn't want her sweet, good-natured friend to pity her or to have to deal with that kind of information. Letty had assumed Dom told Vince, cause when he was over one day and heard Mia tell Letty that they should 'talk' in the older girl's room, he seemed unfazed. Things actually got back to normal pretty quickly. Letty seemed to adjust and recover from her five year ordeal remarkably. But Dom still saw an occasional flicker of fear pass her over her eyes when a new car pulled into the drive, or when there was a knock at the door. He realized what she or anyone else didn't- Letty would not be as 'okay' as everyone liked to think she was for a long time. There were nights that she came to his room, late, when everyone else in the house was asleep. No one knew about this. She'd knock on his door, wait a few minutes, then come in. He'd make room for her beside him, every time, without saying a word. He'd wake up early with her curled into a ball at his side, her face either hidden in his shoulder or tucked towards her stomach, an arm thrown over it. It was like she was unconsiously waiting for an attack. He let this continue because he knew that on nights when she slept in her own room, she was assailed by nightmare. Of course, this didn't count the nights she didn't sleep at all. He'd awoken one night a week after she'd been settled in with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Getting up, he automatically checked Mia's room, but his younger sister was sleeping peacefully. He saw his Dad's door closed, which meant he had already gone to bed. Checking Letty's room, he realized that her bed was empty, and went downstairs. He'd found her sitting on the couch, flipping through channels, her eyes dull. He'd sat with her and they stayed there all night, before Letty finally passed out and Dom took her to her room.

Nothing was said between the two about these nights, and nothing needed to be said, atleast not for the time being. The fall term was quickly coming to an end, and midterms loomed. The garage had seen a sudden unexpected boom in business, and sometimes stayed open until nearly seven. Tony and Mia were busy getting everything in order for their big Christmas eve bash, and were trying to push Dom into taking some classes at the local college the next year, to which he so far had strongly opposed. Dom, meanwhile, had stopped going out in order to help more at the garage and they'd even enlisted the help of Leon. Despite not having Vince to tutor this year, Letty had her hands full with Jesse, who was failing math, the one subject she always aced. Well, besides spanish. Mia had dance every Wednesday and Saturday, and so everyone had full scheduals, and the house rarely had all it's occupants.

So the fall passed by and, as fall tends to do, slowly turned into winter. Of course, not that winter was that much different in their part of the country, but there was a definite chill in the air as Christas came around. So much so that on the weekend before the party, Tony decided that it'd be better to have his kids and their friends downstairs then outside freezing their butts off. Needless to say, this did not go over so well with the kids.

"Dad! Do you know how much work I've already put into this! The basement just won't do!" Dom had argued, but to no avail. His father refused to budge.

So, rounding up the whole group, Vince, Letty, Mia, Leon, and Jesse, Dom put them to work. The basement had been finished a couple years back, and was now home to Tony's old pool table and a collection of other things not wanted around the house anymore. The teens cleaned out the entire basement, filling the garage temporarily with all their old things. The pool table was left, but everything else had to go. Mia hung the chinese paper lantern lights that were usually strung around the trees from one corner of the room to the other, with Jesse's help. Vince and Dom set up a sturdy wood table in one corner of the large room, and Letty enlisted Leon to help her bring in on old couch that used to be in guest bedroom. They covered it in new red fabric and added a few chairs and they had enough seating for those who got completely hammered, as seemed to happen on the one day out of the year Dom's father knew about his drinking and allowed it. Hell, he even helped them bring the kegs down the day of the party. Despite his prefrence for bottles, Dom admitted that kegs were easier.

The night was finally here. Letty's favorite night of the year, Christmas Eve. It was nine o'clock and she could hear the music from the living room and the booming of the bass in the basement. Mia was behind her, finishing her hair. Mia had insisted on dressing her friend up for their first 'real party' (well, the first real one they wouldnt get sent away from like last year). Mia wore a pretty red and white plaid pleated skirt with a white shirt. Her hair was pinned up and looked pretty, like a girl going to the prom, her friend thought. The italian girl hadn't let the older teen see herself as of yet, but now that she was done, she steered her over to her full length mirror and asked, "So? What do you think!"

Letty couldn't believe it. That _wasn't_ her. It _couldn't_ be! Gone were the faded jeans and tank tops, looking back at her was a beautiful, almost-sixteen year old. She had on a short black leather skirt, a red tank top under a thin, see through black shirt with capped sleeves. Her hair was curled and looked cute falling around her shoulders. Her make up was light, but it fit with the clothes. She looked at Mia.

"Where am I?" she asked, and she and her friend laughed.

Downstair, the boys had started their party long ago. The basement was packed, and things were going better then they'd hoped. Vince was holed up on the couch with some girl, and Leon was with a couple of the guys and girls from their grade, drinking and laughing. Jesse was trying to beat some big muscle bound bruiser at pool, and Dom was, as always, chatting up some blonde whore. As soon as the girls came down the stairs, though, everyone looked. Vince watched Mia, nearly drooling, lead her friend by the hand down the wooden stairs. Dom pushed the blonde away when she tried to latch onto him, and she sulked in the opposite direction. He was spellbound. He had noticed a couple months ago how Letty was changing, but THIS. Well, this was just more then he could deal with. She wasn't just pretty, she was _hot_. Really hot. Like, wanna bend you over the hood of my car, fuck you senseless hot, and he couldn't look away. So when they made it to the bottom of the stairs and his view became obscured, he had to shake himself back to reality. What was he thinking? Little Letty? His little sister's best friend, the brat that could make everyone so angry but then with one smile fix it all? The girl that'd almost blown them all sky high messin' around with the welding equipment at his dad's garage? The girl who'd tried to beat him up when she was ten for calling his sister a bitch? Then, smiling, Dom thought back some more, lost in his memories. The girl who trusted him with her life, even when he was angry and on the warpath? The girl who slept in his bed nearly every night because she made him feel safe. The one that stood up for him when everyone doubted him, and that could calm him when he was pissed. The only girl who didn't back down when he challenged her. Hell, no one else did that. Jesus christ, what was going on? Did he really think of Letty as more then a friend? Fuck. Mia was gonna kill him.

Letty and Mia were dancing and laughing. They were having fun, no boys, no drama, just two best friends, dancing. True, they were in the middle of a crowded party, with people dancing around them and getting more then a few stares, but it didn't affect them any. When a guy tried to cut in, Letty pushed him away, and they went back to it. Finally taking a break, Mia went to talk to some of her friends from school, and Letty walked around in search of the boys. She found Vince by the keg and pushed towards him. He saw her and grinned.

"Looks like little Letty's all grown up!" he laughed, and she sent him a good natured glare.

"Shut up Vince, I saw you watchin' Mi. Haha better not let her brother catch ya at that!" she laughed and he frowned.

"Aw come on. She's too young for me girl. Please. You however" he stopped and they shared a laugh at his joke. Vince and she just didn't have that kinda relationship. He walked over to where Leon was but she didn't follow. She looked around and her eyes caught on Dom's. He was leaning against the wall a few feet from her and she lost her breath as his eyes locked on her. She watched him give the once over, and instead of pouncing on him and beating him to a bloody pulp, she waited for him to come to her.

"Hey Dom." she greeted, nonchalantely.

"Hey Let. Looks like my sister got ahold of you." he said, not giving a clue to how good she looked.

"Huh, yeah. What'd ya think?" the girl asked, not showing how much she wanted him to say he thought she looked good.

He paused a moment, then went to pass her, going for another beer.

"Dom!" the angry latino called, making him turn. "You not gonna answer me now?"

He filled his cup, then made his way back to her. As he got close to her, she could smell his aftershave and her breath quickened just slightly.

Before passing her again, he leaned into her ear and stated, coldly, "I think you look better in garage shit."

Letty was devestated. She couldn't believe that Dom had said that to her. She'd spent forever with Mia picking out this outfit. She wore it for him, hoping beyond hope that he'd finally see her as something besides a little sister, or a friend, or coworker. Now, after everything, he told her she looked better covered in grease. Like if it wasn't for her working on cars she'd be worthless. Everything Carlos had done to her couldn't prepare her for the pain her hero had just inflicted upon her. No, she wouldn't let him see what he'd done. Walking out onto the floor, she took some guys drink and drained it, quieting his protests quickly by starting to dance with him.

Dom knew he'd messed up, but he just couldn't deal with the fact that he was seeing Letty as something more then a friend. He didn't want her to know because he didn't know how she would respond. Despite how she looked, she was still only fifteen, and he was eighteen. Of course it was only three years...No. He couldn't think like that. He could feel the hurt and anger radiate off her as she started to dance with some blonde pretty boy in the center of the floor. She must've known she was within view of him, because she was really making a show of it. Dom nearly growled, but was distracted by the blond, who'd come back to play, bringing a pretty little redheaded friend.

Letty had noticed when Dom had gotten two new 'friends' to play with, and she got even more angry. She left the guy and marched over to the keg, where Vince was standing once again, but this time with Leon and the group he'd been talking to earlier. She grabbed a cup and quickly filled it, much to the others' surprise. Downing it, she glared at them, "What?!"

"Uh, Letty, what are you doing? You know Dom's not gonna like that girl." Vince stated, and she smiled, sickeningly sweet.

"Well, that's just too bad now isn't it? Dom's a little too preoccupied to be worried about what I'm doing."

As the night wore on, the party only got wilder. More people showed up and the basement became trully packed. Despite being surrounded by girls all night, Dom just couldn't get his mind off a certain feisty latino. He finally decided he had to apologize to her, explain. He couldn't lose her friendship over something stupid like that.

He looked around but when he found her he just got angry again. She was dancing with the same guy, and he didn't wanna see that. She was pressed up against him, his arms wrapped around her waist.

Dom turned and found Vince, who had his eyes on the girl too. "You seein' somethin' interesting, V?"

Vince just looked at him, and smiled a little, not realizing what he meant.

"Vince! What're you doing? Watchin' Letty's slow descent into whore-dom?" he asked, half-joking. Hell by the way she was dancing you never knew.

Vince gave him a disgusted look. "Watch your mouth, dawg. You were a bastard to her. Everybody know's she thinks of you as a fucking god and you damn near broke her heart tonight."

"What the he-she told you what I said? What the hell?!" the italian sighed and said, "Look, V, it's not what you think alright? Trust me, it's not like that. It's complicated alright. Besides I was just going to apologize when I saw her over there." he stated.

The look on his friends face became confused, then realization slid over it, "Well, how 'bout you come with me to go apologize right now?"

"What are you-" Dom asked, but quickly followed when he saw Vince head for their friend.

Letty had had enough. This guy just didn't get the hint. His hands were all over her and she kept trying to push him away but he just wouldn't budge. When he brought his mouth down on hers she pushed away, but his arms around her had caught her. Thankfully, Vince had cut in. He punched the guy in the face and pushed him towards the stairs, banishing him. She turned around and saw Dom approaching, the last person she needed right now. She went to move back a step, but Vince caught her in his arms.

"Hey Letty girl, why don't you come talk with Dom for awhile?" he asked, and she pulled away, turning to look at him.

"V, I don't wanna talk to Dom." she stated plainly, then swayed towards him and whispered, "He's a fucking dick."

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Dom asked.

She was drunk, there was no simple way to put it. When she looked back at Dom and went to walk away, Vince caught her. He looked over her head at a very confused Dom and said, point blank, as if it should be obvious. "Dom. She's drunk. Lay off."

The larger man's face got red and Vince could see the anger flicker behind his eyes. Taking her arm, he tried to pull the girl to him. "Letty!"

Looking at him, the small latino glared up at him, stating, "Dominic! I don't wanna talk to you!"

"Come on Let. Give him a chance baby girl." her dark haired friend urged, using the nickname bestowed on her when she was far younger.

Dom pulled her with him, despite her resisting, to sit on the couch, barking to a pair of teens to get off. Sitting her down next to him, he looked at her, and she glared out at the people. arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Letty, I'm sorry."

No response.

"Come on Let. You've gotta listen to me, even though I know this probably isn't going to matter tomorrow cause you'll probably be too hung over to remember, you've got to listen."

Mia came over at that point, and when she saw her friend, she instantly looked at her brother. "What did you do to Letty?"

Groaning, the older teen stated, "Mia! I havn't been with her at all! She decided to get drunk, all on her own, alright? I've got her. Go have fun. And if I find out you drank anything, I'll make sure Dad grounds you for the year.

The young teen quickly scampered off, and Dom turned back to his current problem: A very drunk fifteen year old girl with a temper like a volcano. The last thing he wanted to do was set her off.

"Letty please, listen. I didn't mean what I said. I swear I didn't. Let I wouldn't lie to you ever, you know that, don't you?"

She looked at him, her eyes disbelieving. "Dom, you're an ass. I get all dressed up and you jus put me down, like I didn't get enough of that at home. Jeez you'd think that you of all people wouldn't do something like that. You know, I really really do like-" she stopped. Somewhere inside she knew that she couldn't admit how she really felt. Not now, not like this.

Dom was disappointed when she cut herself off, and pained by what she'd said about him putting her down. He didn't ever want to make her feel the way that ass had.

"Letty, listen. What I meant was you don't have to dress up to look good. You look amazing." he admitted, and her eyes softened. "But this? It's not Letty. I saw you like this and it didn't feel like you. I know now that that was stupid, but it just didn't. Letty, you're never more beautiful to me then when you're in a pair of your ratty old pants and a dirty wifebeater, grease on your face, your hair coming out of your ponytail, bending over some hot supped up import with a wrench in your hand. And you know? Because _that's_ my Letty. Because that girl, all dirty and sweaty and covered in grease, is the girl I've known for nearly her whole life, the girl that I-" he couldn't continue. He couldn't admit his feelings, just as she couldn't admit hers. She wasn't frowning anymore, though, and she even had a small smile on her face.

"Dom. The girl that you what? Tell me." the girl demanded.

"Let, you're drunk-"

"I'm not!" Letty lashed out, causing people to look at her. Lowering her voice some, she said, "Dominic, listen to me. Am I drunk? I'm not slurring, I'm not stumbling over myself. Okay well...i'm not sober maybe, but I'm not drunk. I wanna know."

Dom looked at her, acknowledging that she wasn't slurring much or stumbling that noticeably, but it was there. She was no where in the vicinity of sober. "Letty how much did you drink?"

That nearly made her lose it. She stood up, and, nearly falling back on top of him, began swearing at him, a mix of english and spanish and hell who knew what else might be thrown in there.

Standing, the large mechanic took his friends arm and led her towards the stairs. When she fought him, making the crowd of people watching them even larger, Dom glared at her, and, knowing she would murder him in the morning, bent and lifted the girl over his shoulders as if it were nothing. People laughed and called after them, but he ignored them, concentrating on the hellcat in his arms. She was kicking him and beating on his back with her fists. Finally, at the top of the stairs, he set her down and grabbed both her arms in his. "Leticia Damita Rodriguez! If you don't stop this fucking bullshit NOW, I'm calling Tony in here!" Dom only ever used his father's real name if he was using it as a threat. And what a threat it was.

The girl immediately stopped, despite the amount of alcohal in her system. She looked up at him, angrily. Angry, but cooperative.

"Okay. Now, our party is over. You're going upstairs to my room with me, where you're going to STAY, until you sober up. Understand." It wasn't a question.

Despite the lack of response, he led her into the kitchen and up through the living room, thankful that no one stopped them. Rushing a drunk female up stairs is not easy, but they made it before they could get caught. If Tony did find out, Letty and Dom both would be royally fucked with a capitol F U C K.

Setting the girl on his bed, he shut the door and locked it. Alright, what to do now. This was going to be a loooong ass night.

By five in the morning everyone had gone home. Mia was passed out in her room and Tony would be downstairs somewhere doing normal parent christmas eve things. That is, if the house wasnt too trashed. No matter how bad it got, though, he insisted on doing it alone. Kids shouldn't work on Christmas, he always said.

Upstairs, in the first room on the right, Dom sat on his bed, a car magazine in hand, idly flipping the pages. Letty had fell passed out on the floor a few hours before, for which he thanked any god that would listen. He'd left her where she lay. No way was he waking the savage beast. She'd been hell. First yelling at him in spanish so fast he didn't understand a thing, then throwing shit at him, then puking, then deciding that apparently, she could open his door despite it's being locked. That hadn't worked out too well. In the end, the drunk latino and her unlikely saviour would both end up with some bumps and bruises, and she'd probably be puking her guts out in the morning. Other then that, the night was- eh, no, Dom's night hadn't really been good at all, once he thought about it. And Letty was gonna hate him for weeks. Or so he thought.

So that was why, when he woke up at six thirty to find her staring at him from the chair in the corner she'd curled up in, he was surprised. He thought she'd be gone or beating him, anything but quiet. He sat up and looked at her, her face drenched in moonlight. For being hungover, she didn't look that bad. She was pale, and she didn't look happy, but atleast she wasn't covered in puke. Ugh, thank god.

Letty saw him sit up and winced. She didn't know what to say to him. She'd hoped he would just go back to sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to leave his room. The doors downstairs had been unlocked all night. Who knows who could have got it? Of course, she knew that there was only one person she was really worried about finding her...

"Letty." Dom said quietly, afraid of what might be awaiting him. He was surprised once again.

"I'm sorry, Dom. I am, I shouldn't have drank but you got me so-" she didn't continue, looking away. No tears, no, this wasn't nearly bad enough for tears from the tough brunette.

"Letty, I know. I shouldn't have said what I did, but I was just shocked. You- you weren't this little tag a long five year old anymore and I finally had to admit to myself things that I couldn't handle and I took it out on you, I blamed you, even though it wasn't your fault." Dom was shocked at his own admitance.

The Latino girl looked so small in his large chair, and when she looked at him, he knew the question that was awaiting him. "What?"

In the darkness of that Christmas morning, two lives would be forever changed by this moment. It would cause so much pain, and anguish, but so much love, and power, and it would be forever engraved upon the minds of the two stubborn, passionate, soft hearted individuals.

"Dominic, I'm the girl that you what?" Letty asked, slowly.

It was so hard to find the strength to say the words that had seemed so foreign until this moment. He'd never realized it was true until he saw what she could be, and realized he loved her for what she was, for what she always had been. "The girl I love, Letty."

A.N.-I just want to say, I DONT like this chapter, so feel free to review freely cause idk if im even gonna keep it this way. I wrote this hung over and on zero sleep haha but I just wanted to get them together like NOW. lol please review!


	7. I'm not gonna forgive you

In that moment, the world stopped turning, and time stood still. Letty just stared at her companion, her reaction severly delayed by shock. She thought maybe that she had heard him wrong, but in the quiet of the predawn, there was no way she'd been mistaken. He loved her, and she couldn't even bring herself to respond.

"Letty." Dominic sighed, wondering if he'd gone too far, "Letty, you know that we all love you, but last night, I realized that what I felt for you...it was something more. Please don't leave me without atleast telling me that you'll forgive me."

Unconsciously cocking her head to the side, as she often did when thinking or confused, the girl asked, "What do you want me to forgive you for, Dominic?"

Her face was still so blank, it ripped at his heart. "Forgive me for crossing that line. Because now that I've realized it, well, I don't know if I can go back, Let. I don't know if I can deal with seeing you everyday, every night, and not want to tell you every second how I feel about you."

Standing, Letty walked over to the bed. She sat on the edge and tucked her feet up underneath her. Looking over at the older teen, she smiled a little, but she was still too shocked to show much more emotion. Yet, his words were reverberating through her head and her heart couldn't stop it's frantic drumming.

"Dom, I'm not gonna forgive you, because there's nothing to forgive."

He looked her in the eyes, and fought with his own confusion, and dared to hope that she felt something more for him, too. "Letty..."

"Stop, let me talk. You, you've always been this, great hero, to me, someone that I would've loved to be like. But above that, even when I was young, I think I knew. I think I knew that I loved you in a way that I shouldn't. Because I thought that...I thought that I didn't deserve to feel that for anyone, and that you couldn't possibly feel the same way." Letty gushed, spilling it all out.

"Letty, oh god Letty you do though. You deserve to love, to be loved, and god I feel like I shouldn't even be saying this. I'm so much older-"

He was cut off. "Dom. It's two years. Don't even give me that. Like age matters to me."

"It matters to the law. But if there was a way, if it was possible, would you-"

Once again, the impatient little brunnette wouldn't let him finish, "Dominic it is possible. We can find a way. I've waited a long time to find out that you actually feel this way, and I'm not gonna let some court somewhere tell me who I can and can't love. Because I love you, and that's what matters."

Crawling upward in the bed, Letty approached him. She got right in his face and she gave him a the 'look'. The one that said that her mind was made up and there was no changing it. "So tell me again, because this all seems impossible. Tell me."

Laughing a little, the muscular italian cupped her face in his large hands. "Tigrotta Mia, I love you, and I'm sorry that it took me this long to figure that out. I love you."

Letty smiled, and, acting impulsively, she layed her hand on his face, looked into his eyes, and kissed him. It was a sweet kiss, the ever remembered first kiss, and he made sure to keep it that way. However, when he pulled away, he saw the lust in her eyes already and laughed.

The girl grinned, and she curled up beside him, just as she had so many other nights. But this time, it was different. Because she knew that now, she was here because he loved her, and he wanted her here, not just to shield her from her nightmares.

A.N. I know this is a super short chapter, but atleast I got something up. The only reason i even got to was because im procrastinating cause i don't wanna fill out NATEF sheet thingies for Brakes lab tomorrow! haha. Read and review pwease?


	8. Almost caught

Within the hour, Letty was up again. This time, however, when Dom woke, he didn't find her in his chair. He found her sitting on the cold bathroom floor, her head hanging forward, hair around her face. When he closed the door she grimaced, her eyes staying closed.

Sitting beside her, Dom wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Ter raven haired teen leaned against him, letting out a small groan.

"The bad side of beer." He told her.

"I think my organs are gone. That or I must have eaten my weight in food yesterday, cause I have no idea where else that all could have come from." the girl commented.

Letting out a small laugh, the older boy hugged her closer.

After maybe another half hour puke-free, Letty stood, followed by Dom. Exhausted, she turned to him and leaned into his hard chest, draping her arms over his shoulders and sighing dramatically. Letting out a chuckle, Dom stooped and picked her up, her legs encircling his waist.

They got back into bed and she curled up against him once more. When he was almost asleep, she stated, "Dom, you know Mia's gonna come and wake us up soon. Maybe I should go." As much as she didn't want to, she didn't want to get caught, as no one knew that she'd been staying in Dom's room.

"Don't. Let, Dad already knew you were in her. He came up a few hours ago. I told him you got nervous with so many people here and thought that Carlos might show up. So we came up here to chill and you passed out." Dom assured her.

That didn't do much to ease the girl's mind. "Great so now your Dad's gonna think I'm a scared little kid. Oh yeah, that's just what I need." She was annoyed, but more worried about what Tony would think of her.

The older boy got a little angry, stating, "Letty, it was that or tell him that you drank so much Vince and I had to step in to keep get some guy off of you. Yeah, that woulda gone over even better."

"Dom please. Don't act like I was completely trashed, jesus christ. I now when to stop drinking."

Letting out a snort, he incredulously asked, "Really? Is that why you were just puking your fucking guts out? I doubt it."

Pulling away from him, Letty looked at him, her face set in a frown, "Shut the fuck up. I just-" The girl who was never speechless, couldn't find a way to defend herself. God knows that she wasn't gonna let his big head think that he won that arguement though. "Either way Dominic I don't appreciate that. I mean jesus fucking christ. I don't want your father coddling me or some shit. I'm not even sure I know what coddling means but I don't want him doing it. It's been months, I'm over it, and everyone knew that."

"Letty, if you were over it you wouldn't be in here every night."

That was the wrong thing to say. Dom knew it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Letty jumped outta bed and stalked to the door, opening it an inch before it was slammed shut by Dom's hand. "Look, I'm sorry, that was out of line, but you know that you're not over it, and I don't think you're gonna be for a while. It doesn't mean that you're not strong, Letty you are, but how long did you deal with that prick and his shit? It's understandable. Anyone-"

"I'm not anyone Dom! This is so fucking stupid! I shouldn't let him get to me! But I do. I still fucking do and it makes me feel so fucking weak. And stupid. I could've done something sooner, I could have fought back more, and maybe I wouldn't be in this situation, and I wouldn't have to deal with the looks. The fucking pitying looks I get. People who feel bad but are happy that it's not them." The firey little latina glared up at him, angry with herself and the whole situation.

"Stop this. You're not weak, and you're sure the hell not stupid. If you really want to do something about it, then we will." The older teen cryptically offered.

This earned him a suspicious look from the Letty, "What do you mean?"

"If you feel weak, then we'll make you feel strong." Dom offered.

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard in months Dom. What are you gonna do, teach me to fight? I know how to fight Dominic." She spat, offended.

"Trust me I've seen you fight, but you've never taken on a guy. They're bigger and harder to hurt then the girls that you've fought with. Don't take that as an insult Letiticia I see that look. Just think about it, alright? Now come on, if you're not gonna go back to bed then we may as well get up. I think I just heard Mia run downstairs anyway."

Throughout the long day filled with brightly wrapped gifts and cheerful friends and lots and lots of food, Letty did think. About Dom's offer, and about the facts that were admitted early that morning. What the hell did this mean? At dinner, she looked across the table at him while their friends were busy stuffing themselves, and he caught her gaze. He winked and looked away. A few seconds later she jumped, feeling Mia's hand on her arm.

"You alright Let? You seem outta it? Is there something wrong?"

Letting out a laugh, the older girl stated, "Mia it's Christmas, of course nothings wrong! I'm happy." Seeing Dom looking at her out of the corner of her eye, she added, "I'm really happy."

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Christmas was almost over, and the Toretto family was enjoying the last few minutes of the treasured holiday together. Finally, after nearly falling asleep on the floor, Mia stood.

"As much as I'd hate to go upstairs and end this, I'm beat." Giving her father a kiss and bidding them all goodnight, the teen dragged herself up the stairs. Tony watched his youngest daughter leave and turned to his son and 'adopted daughter'.

"I know that being Christmas, this isn't the most opportune time to bring this up, but Letty. Dominic told me about last night. I wanted to see how you're doing. With the way things are going around here lately and all the business at the shop we haven't really had time to talk." The middle aged man kindly asked. As much as Letty hated talking about this, she knew she was blessed to have someone like Tony willing to take her in and actually care.

"No big deal, Tony. Last night was just stressful for everybody I guess. I just let it get to me. But things have been going good. I'm just happy to be here ya know?" she replied, feeling bad for sort of lying to the kind man but not wanting to worry him.

With a sigh, he nodded. He wasn't stupid, he knew everything was not okay, but he was not going to push her. Letty trusted him, and if she needed to, she'd come to him. And he knew that Dom and Mia were there for her, watching over her, and so he left it at that.

Soon after, the father followed his daughter's path up the stairs to retire. This left Dom and Letty alone in the living room, him on the sofa and her in the arm chair. She yawned and stated, "Just to let you know, I'm not completely sure on how last night turned out the way it did, but I'm more then a little confused as to where this leaves us."

Smiling, Dom asked, "Well, where do you want this to leave us?"

"Well considering I'm not the one who's a man whore, and i've only like, loved you since I was like five years old, I think you're the one that's in the decision making spot here Dom."

The man sighed, "First I don't think you could even be a man whore, considering you don't exactly have the right parts. Second, I told you last night that I love you, and I meant it. Now. Why don't you tell me what you want."

Standing, Letty glared at him. She stalked over to him and plopped down on top of him, one leg on either side of his. She looked down at him from where she was kneeling above him, and she grabbed the back of his head and growled, "Dominic, you're fucking thick, you know that?" With that, she crashed her lips down on his, forcing him into an amazingly intense kiss that radiated with passion. Dom didn't pull away this time, but brought her in deeper, massaging her tounge with his. She moaned into his mouth and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She finally pulled back, and stared into his hazy eyes.

"Do you really need me to say anything more?" she snapped, and he grinned.

"Baby, I think you've said it all."

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The next few days were relatively uneventful, with the expected lull in business after the holidays. Everyone just kind of hung out, Mia studying as always, and Tony working on various things around the house that had been neglected lately. Dom and Letty made good use of the precious downtime, hanging out and talking. Their mutual admitances released both their tongues on other subjects as well, and they'd talk for hours some days, about anything and everything. Letty described her dream car for him in great detail, and they'd talk about the big plans Dom had for his own car. Sometimes they'd just lay around with the guys watching movies, but they had to be careful because horror movies and the luring dark that surrounded when the lights were off often created quite a temptation. They decided not to tell anyone anything just yet, and that was just fine with the italian teen. He did not need his dad riding his ass about the fact that his newest 'girlfriend' was both underage and a member of their family. In essence- don't fuck with her head. But he could never do that, not to Letty. They still argued, they argued all the time, maybe even worse then before, but now, it was different. They held the same passion in arguements as in love. But Dom had promised himself to take things slow with Letty, that she was to good to just fuck and flee.

One day, a few days before vacation ended, however, that almost changed. Tony had taken Mia to her dance dress rehearsel and then gone to visit some close family. That left the house unusually empty and a perfect opportunity for a midday makeout session for the two teens. The tv show playing forgotten, things had quickly become heated. They sat on the couch in the living room, Letty stradling Dom's legs, their tounge's locked in heated battle. His shirt was quickly discarded, and Letty sat back, admiring his chiseled abs.

"Now that's the reason that I love you." she joked and he acted offended.

"Ugh! And here I thought it was my sparkling personality!"

Laughing, she kissed him again, and he reached between them to undo her pants. Sliding his hand down the back of her jeans, he grabbed her ass, grinding her against him.

Everything was going fine, until they heard a key in the lock. Letty freaked, jumping up and running into the kitchen, doing up her jeans as she went. Dominic grabbed his shirt and slid it back on as his Dad walked in.

"Hey Dad." the teen stated, attempted to appear casual.

The greeting was returned but after Tony hung up his keys he glanced at the screen, then back at his son. Looking at the screen finally, Dom cringed when he realized he was watching two guys kissing.

"Dominic, you know that you're my only son and I love you, so I'm just going to walk away and pretend I didn't see this."

As his dad climbed the stairs, Dom threw up a flimsy excuse, "I was flipping channels!"

He didn't expect the reply he got from his father's retreating form, "Your sister broke the remote control last night Dom!"

Cringing in embarasment, he glared at Letty when she walked in, "What the hell were we watching?!"

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A.N.- Okay, so I cranked this sucker out cause I needed to find a way to let off steam and escaping into someone else's world seemed like the best way to do it. But I'm probably not gonna be able to update again for a while, cause im planning on getting so hammered this weekend that I'll forget all my problems and then some, and then next week is midterms. So enjoy and maybe if I get enough reviews ill update sooner!


	9. shh!

Time, if nothing else, does pass, and soon school was back in session. Mia was anxious to renew her studies, but Dom and Letty were not quite as ready. They knew that once things got back into their normal routine, it would be harder then ever to hide their budding relationship. Between school and work, there would be very little time left over for anything else.

This couldn't be stopped, though, and the teens went back to school reluctantly. Work at the shop was still pretty slow, and the days seemed to drag on. Weeks went by and January made way for Febuary. Things were pretty boring around the Toretto household. The only 'light' at the end of the long dark tunnel seemed to be Letty's approaching birthday. March thirteenth was the big sixteen, and the group wanted to make sure that she'd have the best time possible. They were planning a big surprise birthday party, with all of their friends and most of the kids at school invited. The only problem with that, though, is that the little latina had the curiosity of a cat. And when she sensed that something was up, she didn't stop until she uncovered what it was.

Now, this wouldn't necessarily be a huge problem, so long as the teens all kept their mouths shut and kept the suspicious girl busy. Mia frequently asked for her help in the kitchen, despite Letty's natural aversion to all housework. The boys kept her hopping around the shop all afternoon, and she had school during the day. That only left the evenings, which was where the problem was. Letty spent two or three evenings a week helping Jesse with his homework. And Jesse was notoriously bad at keeping things quiet.

So, after walking in one day and hearing the dark haired teen questioning the younger boy about what everyone was up to, Mia told Letty that she would take over because the guys really needed the help in the shop. It wasn't a complete lie; though they'd been slow on business Dom was anxious to work on a new 'project car' he'd picked up for a couple hundred off some young kid.

This didn't completly satisfy Letty, however. She was getting frustrated with knowing that something was being hidden from her, and was because of this becoming iritable and the fuse to her explosive temper seemed to be cut in half.

It was a friday in late Febuary, and the weather was warmer then usual. Letty, Vince, Jesse and Leon were already at work in the garage, working on the few cars that had been brought in. Dom had just barely walked in when he heard a loud bang and a clatter of tools. Amidst the long, loud stream of curses in a mix of English and Spanish, he deduced that Vince had done something to offend the little spitfire Dom called his own. As he watched the scene unfold, Letty threw a large wrench at the confused teens' feet and stomped out the door.

Vince looked up and caught his friend's eye and shrugged, shaking his head. The muscular italian nodded that he understood and quickly followed the retreating form. Catching up with her outside, he called to her to stop.

Letty turned around and glared at him. Not the reaction he was hoping for.

"Letty, you know that Vince doesn't think before he talks. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by...whatever it is he said." Dom tried.

"I don't need to be told how to change tranny fluid I'm not a complete moron! Jesus my fucking grandmother could do that for christs' sake!" she flung at him, taking out her anger on him.

"Hey, calm down. You know how Vince is. He didn't mean any harm alright? What's wrong with you lately Let?"

"Oh I don't know Dominic! You tell me! It seems like every time I come in the room now all talking stops! Then I ask Jesse about it and Mia takes over tutoring him despite the fact that shes got plenty of her own work. I know you guys are hiding something from me!" the feisty teen fumed, breathing heavy from excitement.

Dom noticed that they were close to the garage still and kept his voice low, "Baby, people are just overworked and Mia figured we could use you in the garage more then her thats why she offered to take over tutoring Jess." He took her hand and added, "Come with me. We'll go down to the beach, it's been too hectic around here lately. Come on."

--

A.N.- Sorry it's been so long, I've been working my ass off since i got home and I just found out that i'm allowed back to the same college in the fall (lol dont ask) which is good cause not alot of schools near here have auto lol. So i'll be updating more often but i just got a new project in the form of my neighbors car having a blown headgasket. wat fun. but ill try to update asap


	10. The 'fight'

A.N.- Thanks so much for the quick reviews, it really spurred me on. Bare w/ me for this chapter, I've got a huuuge headache but I felt compelled to write some more.

The ride through town was quiet, Letty still fuming, but atleast calm now. She didn't believe Dominic, not in the least. She was a smart girl, she knew when he was lying, and that man was lying through his teeth right now. But she let it slide, for the moment. She could wait.

However, when the muscle-bound driver swung into a parking lot, she did become curious.

"Dom, where in the hell are we?"

Chuckling lightly, the man just replied, "You and that mouth, Letty. One of these days someone's gonna wash it out and when they do I'll be there to supply the soap."

"Fuck you asshole!"

"So vulgar and unladylike! Mia'd be shocked." he joked, getting out of the car.

"Funny. I'm about as close to being a lady as you are to being a gentleman." the feisty teen shot back angrily, but she smirked when she looked up at the single story brick building in front of them.

"A gym, Dominic? Tryin' to tell me something? I mean I know I've put on a little weight-" she joked.

"So you're a comedian too huh shortie?" They both knew that she hadn't changed weight or height in the past two years.

Smacking his shoulder as they entered the building, Letty added, "Fuck yeah I am. I'm as funny as god damn clown. Where've you been for the past 15 years?"

Letty followed Dom through the gym and through a door off the main room, not questioning why they were here. She observed the people around them silently, but always sticking close to her protector.

The room was nearly bare, save for gray mats against the walls and covering the ground. The room was painted a dingy white, and Letty felt like she was in an institution.

Taking his shoes off and instructing her to do the same, Dom lead the way to the center of the room.

"Dom what the hell?"

"I thought this would be a good way for you to let off some steam. Besides the beach has gotta be cold right now. So come on, you gonna get over here or not?"

"Are you serious? I mean I know what you said before but come on, you think you need to teach me to fight? This is dumb."

Shrugging his shoulders, the large man laughed, "Don't be such a girl. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Laughing, the short girl walked up to him, but stayed a foot away, "Like I'm really scared. I'm not gonna fight you."

"You're such a girl."

"That's not gonna goad me into anything moron I AM a girl."

"Pansy."

"Fuck you."

"You'd like that too much."

"You think you'd be good enough for me to like, little girl?"

"I think that it doesn't matter cause you couldn't handle it."

"Damn straight I could handle you."

"Nah, I don't think you could."

"Don't tempt me."

Letty just laughed.

Dom started walking towards the door, casually throwing over his shoulder, "Does that mean you want me to go find a girl I could handle?"

Bending down to grab his shoes, he didn't even know what she was doing until she was on him. Literally. Letty jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around him neck, throwing them into the wall in the process.

"Not fucking funny Dominic!" she jumped down and he turned to face her as she threw a killer right hook and caught him in the jaw.

Realizing what she'd done, Letty dropped her arms, but Dom came back at her, as if he was gonna attack her. Dom grabbed her arms and turned her around, twisting her arms behind her and placing his legs between hers.

"Good, but what do you do if someone's got you like this. Can't use your hands, can't you your feet."

Struggling with his tight grip, her breath shallow, the girl thought. Finally she threw her head back but didn't make contact. Then she pushed back at him as hard as she could, moving back as much as possible. Then. putting all her weight into a quick downward motion she caught him off gaurd and sent them both falling to the floor, him on top of her.

They sat like that for a moment, before he raised himself up enough so she could breathe easier, and asked, "Okay, but that still leaves you stuck. What a predicament."

Looking over her shoulder at him, she smiled coyly, stating, "You're right. You got me. Guess you should show me some things."

Letting her roll over without completely getting off of her, Dominic smiled, "Good. Thank you."

Smiling, Letty leaned up and kissed him, slowly at first, but quickly becoming passionate as their tongues battled for dominance. As he ran his hand down her side she shifted her legs around his, and, wrapping them around his thighs, she used all her strength to flip them. She landed on top of him and grabbed his arms, pinning them against his chest. Realizing she wouldn't be able to hold him, she sat on his arms and crossed hers in triumph.

"Ha yeah right like I'd ever admit you were right and mean it."

--

A.N.- Maybe more tomorrow with a birthday surprise?! We'll see. It all depends on you.


	11. Birthday! Part one

Dom and Letty continued going to the gym a few times a week, with him teaching her various moves that she could use against someone that had a weight advantage on her. Still without her knowledge, the others' preperations for her birthday became frenzied, with the big day soon approaching.

On March 13th, a saturday, Letty awoke to the thump of Mia landing on her bed.

"Leticia Damita Rodriguez! Get outta bed you're sixteen!" The younger girl shreiked in excitement.

Groaning, Letty rolled over, cowering under the blankets, "I'll be sixteen for the next year Mia why's it matter so much this second?"

"Oh Letty you're such a spoilsport. Now come on, Dad made breakfast. It's gonna get cold." Mia jumped off the bed, pulling all the covers off with her.

"MIA!!"

"So. Feel any different Lett? The big sixteen. Gettin' pretty old there." Tony teased goodnaturedly when the birthday girl reluctantly descended the stairs.

"Uggh." Letty groaned, slidding into a chair and propping her head on her hand.

Dom laughed. "Sorry to get you up so early kid, but figured you'd wanna go take you're test before we go to the shop."

The tired teen perked up at that, then asked, "Wait, I have to work? On my birthday?"

Laughing, Tony stated, "Letty, you just quit your whining. No one said you had to work."

Confused but satisfied, the girl dug into her food, anxious to get on with her drivers test.

Dominic was leaning against his car when Letty emerged from the dmv. She walked to him slowly, but couldn't hold back a grin when she got within a few feet of him.

"You did it!" It was more of a statement then a question. The girl nodded and Dom picked her up into a huge bearhug, laughing.

"I can't believe you actually did it." he stated, letting her go.

"Way to have confidence in me."

"Well Letty, you're not the best driver."

"If I'm not it's your fault. You taught me to drive."

"I drive fine."

"Uh-huh." The two got into his red mazda. "Sooo. Why are we going to the shop?"

"Ha yeah, like I'm gonna tell you. Besides, it's too early to go to the shop. I'm supposed to stall till Dad calls. So what do you wanna do, birthday bitch?"

Letty glared at him, "I never did like that phrase."

"Dom called. She passed. He's gonna stall for awhile. You guys better hurry you were supposed to have that done by now!" Mia remonstrated. The boys were still putting the finishing touches on the Nissan. They'd been working on it for months, making sure it was ready for the big day. Now, as they finished off, Tony stood in front of the car, watching in silence. There was something about a car that you built with your own hands that set it apart. True, they hadn't really started from scratch, but they might as well have. The beauty in front of him had been pretty much just a rusted body when Dom had found it in a junk yard near halloween. The team had come together and made it what it was, which was a damn nice car. Letty would be proud.

"Damn it Letty I swear to god-"

"Come on Dom just tell me!

"I'm not gonna tell you and if you don't shut up you're gonna be walking home!"

The young couple was in the car, driving around to waste time. But after an hour of her nagging, Dom just wanted to strangle her. So, turning the car around, he headed to his dad's shop, not caring now if her present was ready or not.

"They're here!" Mia shreiked from the doorway.

The guys quickly covered the car and took their places in front of it, doing their best to block it from view. Tony laughed as Jesse tried to make himself larger by spreading his limbs. It really didn't help much.

Mia sidestepped quickly as Letty ran into the garage, Dom following behind.

"So?!"

"So, what, Let?" Tony asked, feigning ignorance.

"Aw come on, Tony! I've waited all morning and I just know that you didn't have me here to stand around uselessly. So?"

"Well, Leticia, you're right. We all decided, since it was your birthday, we could pitch in and get ya something. But, you know, since you never seemed like the materialistic type, I figured a card would do, but the boys didn't agree..." Tony teased, but poor Jesse couldn't take it anymore.

"!" The poor kid was litterally twitching he was so excited. Taking pity on him, the man laughed and nodded, and the boys moved to the side, sliding the cover off with them.

Letty's eyes nearly popped out of her skull at the car in front of her, and she looked at Tony, not really knowing what it meant.

"Happy Birthday, Kid." Dominic stated, coming up behind her.

Letty just stood there, amazed.

"No-freakin-WAY!!"

In front of her, exactly as she'd described to Dom, was her dream car. Her 1997 240sx. It was right there in front of her, and it wasn't a dream.

Racing over to the car, Letty slid into the drivers seat and placed her hands on the wheel, letting out a sigh.

'Now,' Letty thought, 'I can die happy.'

----------------------------------------------------------------

A.N.-It was a figure of speech, no shes not gonna die. No matter what the spoilers for tfatf4 say. Idk if anyones still reading this since its been so long, but its been a veeery hectic time and it always seems like i just uploaded a chapter and then i look and its been like forever. So, to anyone out there standing by me still i say mucho gracias! and I really really do hope to get a chapter up within a few days. And i apologize if the spacing turns out funny, i keep saving it one way but it keeps changing it/


	12. Author's noteplease read

Okay, for everyone that's reviewed, thank you so much! You guys really inspire me to write more and to try and improve! I don't want you to think I'm not grateful just because I haven't updated. To be honest, I'm pretty stuck on a lot of my stories. I just can't seem to get anything good out anymore. I've written more for all of them, but I don't ever like anything I've written. Plus, if I haven't worked on a story in even a few days, when I come back to read it so I can write more I get so critical of it I get depressed. I'm a mean critic. But I promise, tonight, as in as soon as I write this and post it, I'm going to write a new chapter and post it. It may be horrible, but it's unfair of me to expect people to review and then not update. So here goes nothing!


	13. Birthday, part 2

Though Letty would have been content to spend the rest of her sweet sixteenth driving around in her new car, Mia had other plans.

"Shopping? Mi, I hate shopping!"

"Aw, come on Let, I wanna take you to get a new outfit for your birthday! We'll have fun, and you can drive us!" the younger girl stated.

Thinking for a second, Letty half heartedly agreed. "So long as I pick it out. I'm not wearing some frilly ass pink lace shit."

The boys had the house to themselves for the day, and they were making good use of it. Dom was hooking up the large stereo from the garage and Tony was busy in the kitchen setting out food. That left Vince, Leon, and Jessie to decorate.

Tony walked outside and nearly gagged on his drink. He burst out laughing, getting Dom's attention. Walking out to join his dad, the teen's eyes got wide.

"What….happened?" he couldn't help but laugh at the site in front of him.

Black, red, and silver balloons were tied to anything and everything that would hold them. Streamers festooned the trees, the porch, even the picnic table. Draped over the old wooden fence was a huge, crudely painted sign wishing the birthday girl a 'hapy' sixteenth birthday.

Standing in the middle of the yard, the three friends looked around sheepishly.

"We may have gone a little overboard." Leon said, stating the obvious.

"Nah, man, Letty'll love it!" Vince insisted, looking around.

"I like the sign." Tony added, stifling his laughter.

"I did that!" Jessie piped up, adding, "Sorry bout the spelling, I forgot how to-to spell I guess."

Dom came and laid a hand on his shoulder in a brotherly way "No worries kid, Letty'll love it cause you made it." The younger boy's face broke into a grin.

"Now come on and do the inside….maybe a little less enthusiastically, boys. Remember that you're the one's that are gonna be picking all of this up tomorrow." Tony added with a grin. He'd make SURE of that.

"Mia, I'm done. I can't go into one more store. I might just puke." Letty said with a shiver. Mia had decked Letty out in a deep red silk tank and a low slung pair of jeans. Her mid-drift bare, Letty had already decided this was NOT a weather appropriate outfit.

Mia was desperate, knowing it was too early to head home. She didn't want to ruin the surprise, but Letty was being obstinate. Thinking quickly, she asked, "Why don't we go get something for your car!"

Letty perked up, leading the way towards the automotive store. Mia sighed. Another crises averted.

The music was on full blast, the house bursting with people. Dom was waiting anxiously for the girls to arrive. He played it off though, chatting up some of the girls from school. Had to keep up appearances, of course.

"Hello? Mia, what the hell-"

"Surprise!!!" Mia squeaked as they pulled into the drive.

"Oh god, you didn't."

"We did! Everyone's here for your birthday!"

Letty walked up the drive and into the house, and was greeted by a mass amount of people, most of whom she didn't even recognize, wishing her a happy birthday. Dom just stood back and grinned at her, knowing how she hated surprises, but knowing that she deserved this. It'd been a rough year for her, and this was the perfect way to celebrate her birthday, and her new life in the Toretto household. Even if it wasn't that new.

Jessie raced up to the birthday girl and hugged her , "I-I made you a sign, and we got balloons and shit. Happy birthday Letty."

She grinned at him, then looked around for Dom. She glared at him, and started out towards the kitchen, where the crowd thinned a bit. He followed with a smirk.

Rounding on him, she gave him a little jab. "Really Dom? A party? Who thought of this?"

"Hey, Mia brought it up, and I thought it'd be good for you. You don't like it?"

"It's not that, it's just…I don't even know most of these people."

"They know you." the large teen stated, laughing.

"First, that's weird. And second, where's Tony? I haven't seen him."

Dom sighed, running a hand over his forehead, "He told me to apologize for him, they moved up his meeting with his sponsers and he had to leave. He really wanted to be here though. Sorry Let."

Letty nodded, understanding. Tony hated being at anyone's beck and call, but he had to do what he had to do, and she understood.

"Hey, but he said to make sure you have fun. So let's go back in there and dance, alright?"

Letty laughed, realizing that for once no one would think anything if they danced together. It would just be an 'older brother' dancing with his 'sister' on her birthday. Completely normal.

As the night wore on, the party only got bigger. More people showed up, and alcohol appeared as if out of thin air. Not that that was unusual at a Toretto party. Mia and Letty were dancing, having a great time, when Dom interrupted.

"Mia, let me cut in. You're hogging the birthday girl. Why don't you dance with Vince, keep him out of trouble." Dom laughed. Mia walked off to play babysitter to a slurring Vince, and Dom slid his arms around Letty's waist as a slow song switched on.

"Dom, people can see."

"So what? It's a slow dance, we're supposed to be close." He leaned his head down towards her ear and whispered, "You look amazing, tigrotta mia."

She shivered at his hot breath on her ear, her curled hair tickling her neck. She didn't respond, because she didn't know if she could form words at the moment. How could life get better then this?

The song ended and Dom slipped away. Letty lost him in the crowd, but headed out back for some air. Despite being only march, the air was warm, a slight breeze whispering through the trees. People were lingering in the yard, but it wasn't nearly as crowded as the house.

Leaning up against the side of the house, Letty heard a noise from around the corner. She stiffened, then shook her head, knowing she was probably just being stupid. She slowly made a wide circle over to the corner, not wanting to be surprised. She couldn't see much in the dark, so she stepped closer to the wall. A hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her deep into the shadow's.

A.N.- Sooo im working on the next chapter as we speak...or, well, u know what i mean. I just thought id leave this with a good cliffhanger for a moment. Comments are accepted, but not expected :-) but they'd be loved! And if anyone has any good future fics for Dom/Letty, id love to read them! Just tell me the name. I haven't read any in a while and I'm desperate to get my Dotty fix.


	14. This thing?

Letty pulled back a fist, but stopped short when she saw Dom's grinning face. She almost dropped her arm, but then shifted and punched him in the gut anyway. He let out a small 'oof', and grabbed her arm.

"What the hell Letty!"

"What the hell, Dom! You fucking startled me, how the hell was I supposed to know you weren't…just don't DO that okay?" she ordered.

Dom felt instantly guilty, "Oh jeez Let, I'm sorry. I didn't think."

She turned away, brushing him off, "Yeah, whatever."

Grabbing her arm and pulling her to him, he looked down into her face, "Hey, don't do that. Come on, I'm sorry baby."

Looking into his gorgeous eyes, she couldn't help but grin a little. Here they were, at her own birthday party, sneaking around. She let out a laugh. He took that to be a good sign.

Leaning down, his arms around her slim waist, he kissed her chastely. When he pulled away, she left her eyes closed, reveling in his touch. "Happy birthday, Let."

"Hmm. Thank you." Opening her eyes, she smiled at him. Despite the dark, he smiled back.

"I love you so much."

Letty held him a little tighter at that. She knew he loved her, but he didn't say it often. He just wasn't the emotional type. That was part of the reason she loved him, but it was nice to hear it sometimes too.

"Te amo, Dominic. Seimpre."

After a few more intense kisses, Dom pulled away.

"You should be at the party, it is for you after all." he laughed, but she didn't.

"I'd rather stay here."

Looking down into her sweet face, Dom felt his blood rushing to a part of his body that he rather wished it wouldn't. He shook his head, and stated, "Letty, baby, I wish we could, but any more of this and I'm gonna get us in some trouble."

"So?"

Letty knew exactly what he meant, and she didn't care. She loved him, and he loved her. She wanted him. Now.

"So, I'm not gonna do this, Let. Now now, not like this. Not with all of our friends waiting for you. It's not the right time." he told her, wrestling with his own urges.

Letty's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you get to decide when it's the right 'time' for us? What about me, don't I get a say?"

Sighing, he could see one of her infamous tantrums coming. "Letty, of course you do. But right now, I'm the one that's gonna decide, because I'm the one who could get put in jail, not you."

Screwing her face up, she accused, "Oh, so what you think I'm gonna tell someone if we did? What the fuck Dominic!"

The man ran his hand over his smooth head, trying to find a way out of the growing argument, "No! God damn it Leticia! When we do this, I'm not gonna want to stop. I can barely keep my damn hands off you as is! So when we do, it's gonna get a lot harder to keep this thing quiet!"

Letty glared at him, "This _thing_? That's great Dom, it's good to know where we stand. We're a _thing. _So what, have you been off fucking other girls? God knows you're not coming to me for it, so where exactly are you going? You know what, that's fine, do what you've gotta do man. I'm sick of this shit."

Letty stalked around the corner, leaving Dom to try and understand what just happened. How the hell had such a great day, turn so bad?

A.N.-More coming tonight, im on a roollll. Reviews? Yeah, they make me happy. lol they 'tickle me'. lol_  
_


	15. Looong chapter 14

**The night seemed to drag on after that. Letty would have preferred to just go for a nice long drive, but Mia and the guys had put so much thought into this. She would have felt terrible to just leave like that. So she plastered a fake grin on her face, and attempted to have a good time. She hung out with Leon and Jessie, she danced with Mia and even Vince, despite his being slightly intoxicated. She didn't see Dom for a while, and actually did begin to have a good time again. Damn him if he thought he could ruin her night. **

**Vince ended up wandering away while she was talking to some kids from school, and headed out back, drink in hand. He spotted Dom on the picnic table and climbed up next to him.**

"**Why you chillen out here Dom? All the fun's inside." **

"**I'm just thinking, V." Dom answered, taking a swig of his beer.**

"**Mmhm. I get that. Gots a lot to think about, don't ya?"**

**Dom looked over at his friend, wondering what the hell he was talking about. **

**Vince didn't even look at him, but added, "I know, man. I may be slow, but I'm not blind. I know."**

**The Italian's mind reeled. How the hell could Vince know anything? Outwardly he remained calm. "You're drunk, Vince."**

**Shaking his head with a course laugh, the other teen responded, "No, dawg, I ain't. I'm sober as a damn judge." Suddenly, Dom noticed, the slur was gone from his speech. What the hell was going on? "I'm not drunk, just observant." With that, he stood up and started to walk towards the house. He stopped a few feet from Dom, and, turning back just slightly, added, "But man, you better watch yourself. Once you break that wall, there's no going back. She'd be devastated. I love you man, you know that, but if you hurt her…Just don't, alright. Don't."**

**Dom just sat there as Vince walked back into the house. How the hell did Vince know? And who the hell was he to threaten Dom? Like hell he was gonna hurt her. God damn it, it just wasn't his night. **

**The party began to die down, and eventually ended up with just the team hanging around the living room. Minus Dom. Mia was cleaning up the kitchen, her aversion to clutter overpowering her want to hang with her friends. Jessie and Leon were playing some racing game, Vince was watching from the chair, and Letty was sprawled on the couch. **

"**Shit, you guys know you've gotta clean this shit up right?" she asked, laughing a little.**

**Vince just groaned, tossing her a dirty look, and the others just grunted. She laughed, then sat up.**

"**Mia!" she called. When the girl appeared in the doorway, Letty bargained, "You can leave the mess girl, the boys'll get it, right boys?" **

**No response.**

"**Whatever. I'm going to bed though, I'm beat." Walking to the stairs, she looked back at the others and laughed, "Do you guys even have a home?"**

"**W-well yeah, but it's better here." Jessie answered, his concentration momentarily broken.**

"**Hey wait, Letty." Vince sat up straighter and looked her in the eye, "You seen Dom lately?"**

**Letty froze, not wanting to let on that she was angry with him. She could see Vince gauging her reaction. What was up with that? "No, man, I ain't seen him in a while."**

**Leon laughed, "Dawg, you know Dom, probably found himself a chic. God knows why the rest of us didn't."**

**Letty's face darkened at that, but the only one who took notice was Vince. He noticed, and stored that away in his mind. Something was definitely up. He knew that Dom had a thing for Letty, and he knew the girl worshiped him, hell everyone knew. But something more was definitely going on.**

**Once in her room, Letty slipped her shoes off, shook out her hair, and dropped onto her bed. What a fucking night. What the hell was going on with them? Why did Dom have to be such a dick. She knew Dom, she knew his reputation with woman. Yet he hadn't even tried anything with her. But he said he loved her. How god damn confusing was that. They'd been sneaking around for three months, and hadn't done anything more then make out. Could she really believe that he wasn't getting something on the side? They'd never claimed to be exclusive. Hell, they technically weren't even dating. According to Dom, what they had was a 'thing'. Letty fumed. She was pissed as hell, but she couldn't do anything about it.**

**Within the hour she heard Mia come upstairs and to bed. She heard Leon and Jessie leave. Vince, she figured, was passed out on the couch, like usual. Or in the bathtub, or on the table. Vince just sort of slept wherever he thought most convenient to him. Finally, about an hour and a half after she came upstairs, she heard Dom's heavy footfalls in the hall. It was four thirty in the morning.**

**Dom's room was the first door on the right. Hers was the second on the left. She heard him stop walking, but didn't hear his door open. She heard him walk towards her door. Then nothing. He was outside her door, she knew. Well damned if she was gonna talk to the bastard tonight. **

"**Let?" she heard him call. She slipped under her covers, dropping the magazine she'd been flipping through. She heard her door knob creak, the door slipping open a little. She kept her eyes shut. She didn't want him to think she was loosing sleep over there little spat. After a few minutes, he left. Went back to his room, and shut the door. **

**Letty didn't stared up at her ceiling, knowing sleep wasn't gonna come.**

**Dom sat in his room, not knowing what he'd done wrong. Wasn't his not trying anything with her supposed to be a good thing? No, he was lying to himself, that wasn't the real problem. She needed something more then he'd given her. She needed to know that he wasn't out whoring around. He wasn't, he couldn't think of any girl but her, but she didn't know that. What was he supposed to do, though? His dad would tan his hide if he found out what had been going on. They'd just have to wait, and she'd just have to learn to deal with it. Something is better then nothing.**

**The next morning, there was silence around the table. Mia had tried valiantly to start a conversation, but no one else caught on. Letty glowered into her cereal, Vince kept quiet, observing Dom and Letty, and Dom was just in a surly mood. Mia gave up.**

**Getting up to put her plate in the sink, she asked, "Are you guys going to the garage today?" **

"**No."**

"**Yes."**

**Dom and Letty glared at each other over the table.**

"**It's a Sunday Dom, Tony doesn't open the garage on Sundays."**

"**We've got a lot of shit to catch up on now that you're car's finished." he stated, not looking away from her.**

**Letty's face darkened, and she stood, dropping her bowl into the sink with a loud crash. "Fine, Dominic, we'll go to the god damn garage and finish the god damn shit, then maybe you can get the bug outta your ass."**

**Mia just stood by, confused, and Vince sat there looking away. **

"**ME? Why don't you point the finger at yourself there Leticia." Dom flared. **

"**Fuck you Dom. You go to the god damn garage. I'm going for a drive." Letty stormed out of the house, keys in hand.**

"**LETTY!" Dom roared, following her. He got to the door in time to see her car speed off.**

**Vince came up behind him, silent. **

"**Don't, V. Just don't." **

**Dom and Vince spent the day at the garage, trying to get caught up. They didn't leave until nearly eight. Dom was dreading going home. He didn't want to fight with Letty anymore, but what could he do? **

**Turning around, he headed away from the house. He needed to go for a drive, clear his head.**

**Letty got home around mid-day, to find the house cleaned up and a note from Mia that she was at the library and would be back before dark. Letty fixed herself something to eat, flipped on the tv, and sank down in front of it. Mia got home around six, asking where everyone was. Letty didn't know.**

**She stayed in the living room even after Mia went upstairs to bed. She knew she should go to, she had school in the morning. Dom still hadn't shown up. It was nearly eleven. **

**A little after one, she heard his car pull into the drive. She flipped off the tv and sat there, in the dark, waiting. She heard him curse as he fumbled with his keys in the dark. Unlocking the door, he came in quietly. He flipped on the small light beside the couch.**

"**Letty." he stated, surprised to see her still up.**

"**Have fun tonight, Dom?" she accused, standing.**

"**Jesus Let, don't gimme this shit tonight alright? I've had a rough fucking day." he walked into the kitchen to grab a beer. Coming back, he saw her standing just as she had been, glaring at him.**

**He walked by her and sank down onto the couch.**

**Letty didn't move for a moment, then she chucked a little. She asked again, without looking at him, stressing each syllable, "Did you have a fun night, Dominic?" **

**Nearly growling, he spat, "No, I fucking didn't."**

"**Really? Cause either you're using a new **_**lipstick**_**, or you're lying out your god damn ASS!" Letty stormed upstairs, locking herself in her room. **

**Dom jumped up and looked in the mirror. "God DAMN IT!" He threw his beer into the wall, shattering it. **

**The next day, Letty gave Mia a ride to school. They hadn't seen Dom all morning. When school finally let out, Letty dropped Mia off at the diner and headed for the shop. She didn't want to see Dom, she wanted to cut his eyes out at the moment, but she didn't want the guys to think something was up. She'd gotten angry with Dom before, but she hadn't missed a day of work since moving in with the Torettos.**

**Letty raced to the shop, parking and getting out reluctantly. The guys were all already here. And there was Dom's rx7, in its usual spot. Damn.**

**Letty had already decided to ignore Dom and get straight to work. She greeted the guys and slipped out of her hoodie, going to work on a shitty old ford that needed a whole new exhaust. **

**The hours flew by, and before she knew it, someone was kicking at her leg. She rolled out from under the ford, having just barely finished. She looked up at Leon, she stated, "Quittin' time chica."**

**While the guys were cleaning up, she went to her locker to grab her things. Dom appeared in the door to the office, "Letty! Get over here." **

"**Suck it, Dom." she threw back, causing poor Jessie to nearly choke on the soda he was drinking. The guys bit their tongues so as not to laugh.**

"**LETTY!" she knew that voice. The tone brooked no argument…and yet…she just couldn't help herself.**

"**What's your god damn problem you jodiendo asshole! Dejeme justo el jode solo! Yo no quiero a joder trata con su mierda estupida de toro de asno en este momento! Usted me maneja loco! Acabare en un dios maldice institucion para enfermos mentales a este paso!" **

**Letty stormed past him and into the office, then turned on him when he shut the door. "What the hell do you fucking want!"**

**He just watched her, blocking the door. "DOM!" she spat, impatient and pissed.**

**He shut the blinds in the office, and heard a collective 'awww' from the guys. They didn't want to miss the show, but he didn't want them to see it.**

"**Go home!" he yelled back at them.**

"**Letty, you need to listen to me."**

"**I don't need to do a fucking THING for you, Dominic!" she spat back.**

"**It's not what you think! Can't you just give me two damn minutes to explain! God damn it Letty I haven't been with another woman since before Christmas! Do you really think I could do that to you? Do you really think I could hurt you like that? Jesus Let, I can't even think about anyone but you!" he confessed, sounding completely worn out. **

"**I saw it Dom. You can't fucking lie when I saw the lipstick on your god damn face with my own eyes!" **

"**Letty! I went down to Hectors, he was having some people over. There was this chic-"**

"**Jesus Dominic, I don't want to fucking here this!" the petite teen tried to push by him, but he blocked her way.**

"**Damn it Letty just listen! If not for any reason beside that I've never lied to you, not once!"**

**She stepped back. That was true. He never had. She let him finish, but she didn't like it.**

"**There was a chick that I had hooked up with. She was drunk, she kissed me. Yeah, I'm not denying it."**

"**And so what, you just threw her off you? Do you really think I can believe that coming from the 'legend' Dominic Toretto?" Letty whispered, her anger boiling up again.**

"**I did! Ask Hector, I left alone. I came home. To you." he shouted, trying to get her to see the truth.**

**Letty looked in his eyes, wanting so badly to believe him. He'd never lied to her. Ever. But there was a first time for everything.**

**She sighed, her head throbbing, her heart aching, but her anger subsiding into pain. "Damn it Dominic." she let out quietly. "Damn it, I just don't fucking know what to do here, alright?"**

**Dom watched her sink back onto the desk, watched as she messaged her temples, thinking. "I'm not lying to you, Let. I would never lie to you."**

**Looking inside herself, she knew it was the truth. "I know, Dom. But everything's just getting so messed up, you know? This, **_**us**_**, whatever **_**we are. What are we, Dominic? We have to keep everything secret, it just feels wrong. I love Tony and Mia and the guys, it feels weird to hide anything from them."**_

_**Dom sat beside her, and agreed, "I know, but we've got to. I love you, but you're too young-" off her glare, he quickly added, "In the eyes of the law, at least. And you know what my dad would say. You're family. He'd think I was gonna hurt you. Not on purpose, but with my track record…" **_

_**Letty let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, you're a real Casanova."**_

"_**I'm not, though, Letty. I'm not gonna hurt you. Not ever." he stated, looking at her intently. **_

"_**I know, I do. But I need something more, Dom. I need…I need to know where I stand. Where we stand. I can't just live like this anymore. What are we, Dom?" she asked again, nearly pleading for an answer he wasn't sure he had.**_

_**He was silent for a long time, and she began to doubt if he even knew what he wanted. Finally, he looked at her, took her chin in his hand, and tilted her face to look at him. "Soul mates, baby. That's what we are. We're soul mates."**_

_**A.N.-I really really…REALLY REALLY REALLY want to write more tonight, but I have to work in the morning so I really shouldn't…..but maybe just a biiit more…**_


	16. Something's gotta give

A.N.-I really really…REALLY REALLY REALLY want to write more tonight, but I have to work in the morning so I really shouldn't…..but maybe just a biiit more…

A.N.2-Thanks sooo much for all the reviews, they're like food for my brain I must say, I do like food lol.

And I just realized I never translated the Spanish for the last chapter…if you want it, let me know…but somehow, I think you can imagine the gist of it :-p

Letty stared into his deep brown eyes and shook her head. "You're such a softie, Toretto." she teased, quietly.

Letting out a husky laugh, he replied, "Only with you baby."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she jumped up quickly. "Dom-"

He stood, frustrated, "Letty, what more am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know! Where do we stand? Where do we go from here? You say we're soul mates… what does that mean for us now, though?" she questioned.

Shrugging his big shoulders, the man replied, "I don't know. I just know that now's not the right time to tell anyone."

The raven haired teen looked crushed, knowing what was happening, "I can't lie to them, Dom. And they're not stupid. I think Vince knows something's up. And your sister's gonna catch on real quick."

They just stood staring at each other. There was no way around it, things weren't working as is.

"Something's gotta give here Dom."

Dom's big hands slid over his head, a sure sign of his frustration. "Damn it Letty, I don't know what to do. Should we just- should we just stop whatever this thing is that we're doing?"

Letty was confused, her head ached, but she knew that was the last thing she wanted, "How could you even- you just said we were soul mates, Dominic, now you're saying you want to- what? I'd say break up but we weren't really dating to begin with!"

"Letty, I'm just thinking maybe we should wait. You know, until you're-"

"Until I'm legal." she snorted, humorlessly. "Damn it Dom you keep hiding behind that fucking word. I think you just got into something you can't deal with and now you want out. And how the hell am I supposed to deal with this, huh? What, should I move out? Cause god knows I am not going to be able to deal with that. I could before, but not now, not now. Everything's different."

Dom just shook his head. "No, you're not moving out, look I just have to think, okay? Just, give me some time."

Grabbing the door and swinging it open, Letty shot back, "Take whatever time you need, Dom. I'm sick of dealing with this. When you decide you're gonna man up and deal with what you've started, then you can come find me."

He heard her car race down the road, but didn't move. How had his life suddenly got so fucked up?

A few days went by, Tony came home, and things went by relatively normal. Except that Dom and Letty avoided each other like the plague. No one could understand it. Tony figured it was that tempers were high with all the stress of his upcoming season and with Dom's and Vince's graduation approaching. To try to ease the tension, he decided a barbeque was in order.

It was a brilliantly sunny Saturday in early April, the heat lessened slightly by a light breeze. Tony had invited some of his pit crew, and a few close neighbors. The guys were all there, Mia, and Letty too. Dom had gone to pick up a part for his car, and was due back any time. Dom and Letty had yet to resolve their problems.

Letty was arguing with Vince yet again about which of Tony's competitors actually had potential, when Dom pulled up. He came into the backyard and greeted his Dad, but then looked around and saw Letty. He couldn't keep his mind off her since their fight at the garage. He'd messed up. He knew it. He should have just been straight with his father from the beginning, telling him exactly how it was. He wouldn't hurt her, not ever, and he'd just have to make his Dad realize that.

So when he saw her standing across the yard, hair pushed back from her face, hands crossed in front of her in a typical Letty stance, his control just snapped. He left his father, mid sentence, strode through the party, and grabbed her by the arm. Startled, she turned to him, and he kissed her. Right there, in front of their friends and family, he kissed her full on the mouth, for a good minute before pulling away. The world disappeared as she looked up at him, realizing what he'd just done.

The smile the began to spread on his face was wiped off when he felt himself being jerked away from her. Despite his large size, Dominic Toretto was being dragged easily away by his father. He knew he was in some deep shit. He knew, but didn't care. He'd done what he needed to do to make Letty happy, and that's the only thing that mattered to him now.

A.N. again- I'm really frustrated that the beginnings of my paragraphs won't stay indented, cause they're supposed to be, but whatever, sorry bout that :-p


	17. It's got to end

Dom hadn't come back to the barbeque with his Dad. Tony came out, gave Letty a look, and went back to his grill. Letty didn't know what was going on, but she was desperate to find out. Tony was killing her with the waiting. Finally, after she nearly drove herself insane wondering, she approached him.

"Can we, um, talk?" she asked quietly. He looked down at her and just nodded, waiting for his friends to walk away. Finally, he called Vince over to the grill and put his arm around her shoulders in a fatherly way. He led her away from the others, around the front of the house. Sitting down on the porch steps, he motioned for her to join him.

They were both silent for a moment before Letty burst out, "Tony, please don't be angry with us. It's not what you think. I-"

Tony cut her off, "Letty, calm down. I'm not going to yell at you. I love you like a daughter, you know that, and I love my son. But what's been going on is not acceptable."

Letty watched him intently, her nerves eating away at her. Was he going to send her away? Did he not want them together?

"I'm not angry, not with you. But I am disappointed that you two don't respect me enough to be honest with me. I know how hard things have been for you, but I'd hoped we'd gotten to a point where you could trust me." he sounded so let down. It nearly broke Letty's hard little heart.

"Tony, I do trust you! I just-I was afraid that you'd…" she couldn't finish the statement.

Looking over at her, Tony took her hand. She looked up at him. "I would NEVER send you back to your brother, Letty. You're a part of this family now. I hope that you know that."

Letty couldn't respond.

"However, you're only sixteen, and even though I know that you've been through a lot, you've got a lot of growing up to do still. I don't know that you're ready for the kind of…relationship that Dom's used to." he faltered, not sure of how to continue.

Letty's eyes got wide, "Tony-"

"Hold on now Leticia, let me finish. I love my son, but I'm not naive. I know how he is with women. He's a good boy, a good man, but I'm not sure he's ready to really love you the way you should be loved. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he'd ever hurt you, not intentionally. But the girl's he's used to…well, you've seen the girls he brings home. They're not the same caliber as you. They're not the relationship type. But you are, you deserve everything he could possibly give and more." Tony stopped, letting her speak.

"Tony…" what was she supposed to say to that? The man had pretty much just said that she was too good for his son.

"Letty, I know you probably think I'm a horrible father for saying what I have, but it's the truth. I just told Dom the same thing. And you know what? He agreed with me."

Letty was crestfallen. Dom had agreed that he wasn't good enough for her? Or that she wasn't ready for Dom, and vice versa?

"About most of it. Until I told him that it had to end. Then, he did something that made me angry. Angry and proud, at the same time. He stood up, looked me in the eye, and told me I was a great father. But that I was wrong. Not about him, about the way things have been, but about what he feels for you. He said things that I wasn't sure I was ever going to hear him say, to be honest. The way he spoke, I felt like it was me, standing up to his grandfather when I asked for Maria's hand. And I believe him."

They looked at each other, and finally Letty found her voice. "Tony, I love him."

Tony nodded, looking away, "I know. And I know he loves you. And I know that no matter what I do, that's not going to change. But I also know that the way you two have been acting _is_ going to change. There isn't going to be anymore of this sneaking around, and I don't want to find out you've...you're sixteen. If you love each other as much as you say, you'll wait."

Letty's eyes widened, "Tony, I swear, we won't…we haven't-"

"I know you haven't done anything. If you had Dom would be hurting a hell of a lot more then he is."

Letty couldn't help but smile a bit at that, but his next sentence wiped it clean off her face.

"And you're going to be staying in your own rooms from now on. Don't look at me like that, I'm not an idiot. A father knows these things."

Letty didn't know what to say. "Does that mean…"

Sighing, Tony stood, then gave her his hand to help her up, "Yes. You can continue…whatever it is you're both determined to keep. And I'll pray every night that you can tame him. God knows if anyone's fit for the job, it's you."

Dom still hadn't returned to the yard, and Letty desperately wanted to see him. She didn't know if Tony had meant to stay out of his room at night, or in general. Her eyes kept drifting back to her window from Mia's face.

"Letty! Are you listening? What the hell was that about? You and Dom? Seriously?" Mia was in shock, as were many of the others.

"Yeah, Mi, seriously."

"Since when?!" she accused, angry at not being told.

"Mia, it wasn't like I didn't want to tell you, we just didn't want to upset Tony. Which didn't end up working out too well, I've gotta admit." the teen added.

"I can't believe this. This is crazy. I just- I don't believe this."

As Mia drifted into another rant about how unbelievable it was that they hadn't told her, Letty once more looked at Dom's window, and saw the curtains twitch just slightly. Looking to Tony, she saw him watching her, his face stony. He saw the look in her eyes and nodded slightly, but still didn't look happy about it.

With a quick smile she excused herself from her friend's chatter and walked into the house, making sure not to rush. Finally inside, she raced up the stairs, intent on finding Dom.

Entering his room, Letty saw him standing in the window. He turned to face her, his face void of any emotion. She looked at him for a moment, confused. Finally, he smirked at her. Laughing, she raced up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him feverishly.

Pulling back a bit, Dom laughed. "Well hello to you too, beautiful."

"I thought he was going to kill you! Did you see the look on his face?" she asked, wondering what all had happened between father and son that Tony hadn't told her.

The man snorted, "I didn't have to _see_ his face, I _felt his boot. _That was enough for me."

Letty's eyes widened, but she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Tony kicking his son in the ass.

"Oh, so now you're going to laugh at me, huh? Better watch it before I take my boot to YOU." he mock threatened.

"Yeah, okay tough man, I'd like to see you try!" she teased.

His eye got a dangerous tint to it and she gave a sheepish grin, "Kidding? Besides, Tony's otherwise occupied at the moment…don't you think we could find something better to do?"

Dom grinned and shut the door.

Maybe things would work out okay, after all.

A.N.-Sorryyy about grammar and spelling, I've just been so caught up in cranking these chapters out I haven't even stopped to really reread. So if the last like, four or five chapters aren't up to par, I apologize…I just can't help myself! Alright, off to write another chapter! Reviews are love!


	18. Nightmares

A.N.- So many much needed reviews! You all make me sooo happy haha. Runningwild22, thanks for all the reviews! Tangilass too! glad to know you're liking the story! Thanks also go out to 2furious4u, gg-1-xoxo, and Christine. And Lynn101, I'm currently attempting to send you my vibes... hummmmmm...haha. Hope you get them!

Two nights later, Tony awoke to an ear piercing scream. Bolting out of bed, he raced to his daughters room, but found her also just waking up. Backing up into the hallway, he nearly ran into his son.

"It's Letty." he stated.

Entering the girls room, he approached the bed. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he shook her. "Letty, Wake up! Wake up Let!"

Tony watched from the doorway as his eldest calmed the girl. He didn't even hear Mia come up behind him until she whispered, "I thought she was okay now. I thought she wasn't getting nightmares anymore."

Dom's eyes nearly shot daggers as he looked up at them, "She wasn't."

Tony knew his meaning, but he knew he'd made the right decision.

The breakfast table the next morning was quieter then usual. Dom was in a terrible mood, and Letty didn't have any idea the exchange that'd gone on the night before. All she knew was when she woke from her nightmare, Dom was there, like always.

They rode to school separately, because Dom didn't start his classes as early. Being a senior, he could opt to take a study hall first period and just show up late. Mia rode with Letty, but they didn't see each other nearly all day.

The ending bell finally rang, and Mia met up with Letty at her locker, intent on bringing up the night before. Somehow she just didn't know what to say. The rest of the student body, however, did have something to say. The school was abuzz with the latest gossip: that Dominic Toretto was not only dating a sophomore, but the only girl in auto shop, who lived with him, could you believe it?

Letty and Mia walked out to her car, running into Leon and Jessie on the way. They were in the middle of a conversation about the girl in front of them in their last class. Jessie looked at Letty for a second, then looked back to Leon. After the third time he did this, Letty demanded, "Jess! What is your issue today?!" She stopped walking, reaching her 'baby', as she'd dubbed her car.

Grinning sheepishly, he responded, "I can't help it Let. It's just weird, ya know? You and Dom, I mean, shit. I didn't think-"

Vince came over, cutting him off, "Well I did. I knew before the rest of you, ya morons. Sorry Mia, I didn't mean you. But I knew. Before you're birthday, even." He leaned back against his car, situated on the other side of Dom's at the back of the parking lot. They always parked this way. Leon, then Letty, Dom, then Vince. Every time. No one else ever seemed to park there, whether on purpose or not no one bothered to care.

Letty glared at him, not believing him, then remembered the way he'd watched her when he asked about Dom.

"Shut up V. It doesn't matter, all right?" she tried, desperately wanting the topic to change.

"What doesn't matter?" Dom asked, coming up beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Nothin' man. We heading to the shop?" Leon asked, playing the peacemaker.

Dom laughed gruffly, "Leon, everyday you ask the same thing. Don't we ALWAYS go to the shop?"

With that, they left as one, not yet the team they'd come to be, but on their way.

Thursday night, Mia woke again, hearing someone shout. She sat up and slipped out of bed, heading into the hall. She saw Tony in the hall, and asked, "Daddy? What's going on?"

He just shook his head, "Go back to bed, baby."

"It's Letty again, isn't it?"

Tony just went back into his room, leaving Mia to worry if her friend would ever be okay again.

Night after night, the nightmares came. Sometimes she'd scream so loud she woke the neighbors, sometimes she'd shout. Mostly she'd just wake up in tears, drenched in sweat, with Dom standing above her. She knew now that Tony knew, that Mia knew. She thought she'd dealt with the past, but she was wrong. The only reason's the nightmares had stopped before was because she had Dom. But Tony had put his foot down about that. And she understood. But she had forgotten how horrible the nightmares were.

About two weeks after the barbeque, she woke from a nightmare on her own. She didn't want to go back to sleep, she didn't want to risk waking everyone up. She hated the way they were looking at her, even though she knew it was only because they cared. So she got up and headed downstairs, flipping on the tv. It was better then slipping back into her hellish dream world.

Tony woke up early to head out to his meeting, which was a few hours north. It was four in the morning, the sun hadn't begun to rise. Yet, when he went downstairs, there was Letty, passed out in front of the television. He shook his head, quietly passing her to go into the kitchen. When he heard her begin to mumble, he looked back into the living room, anticipating a nightmare. What he saw was his son at the bottom of the stairs.

Despite the dark, Tony saw his son's face, saw the angry defiance there. He watched, silent, as Dom crossed to the couch, lifted the girl into his arms, and stood. He shot his dad a final look before heading back upstairs. Tony let it go. For now. But something had to be done. Letty needed to deal with things that she obviously was just suppressing, and Dom needed to let her.

Little did he realize that something would happen soon that would make the issue of Letty's past fall to the wayside once again.

A.N.-Something bigs obviously coming...but i'm gonna try to skip ahead some in the next chapter, because I'm bad at writing sadness :-(. Forgive me? :-)


	19. Another Authors notethanks!

My faithful, lovely reviewers,

I've gone far too long without updating, and for that, I sincerely apologize. J I have, however, reread reviews and gotten the urge to write again. Look for more to come on this, and a few other of my stories. Until then.

Darx


	20. Chapter 18time to come home

A.N.-I'm not happy with this chapter. I think I should stop writing at 2 in the morning. Hmmm. Anywho, thanks for all the reviews, Ill continue…but I may rewrite this chapter. Not making any big changes I think, but I don't like the way its worded. Eh, we'll see. And yes. Shortness. Sorry.

Dominic never did get to graduate. Sure, he got an equivalency diploma, but he never got to walk. He couldn't…he was in jail for beating a man nearly to death. Antonio Daniel Toretto had died, and Dom had taken his anger out on the man he believed responsible.

When he looked back on the weeks after his father's death, Dom didn't remember much. He remembered the crash, he remembered that with vivid clarity. He remembered his sister's heart wrenching sobs, the looks on his friends faces. And the funeral. He could think back on the funeral and feel that he was right back there. He remembered the terrifying rage that over came him when he ran into Linder. He didn't remember much more then that, though. Maybe he had chosen to forget, to block it out. It hurt less that way.

But it'd been two years since then, and he had learned to somewhat accept what had happened. Prison had toughened him, body, heart, and mind. And now, he had to face the real world again. As happy as he was to see his sister, to see his friends, to see Letty, he was worried. Worried that they'd see him as some sort of…monster.

Vince came to pick him up. He grinned at Dom, looking not much different then he had two years earlier, and greeted, "How you been, man?"

Dom just laughed, a deep, raspy laugh from the pit of his stomach. God, it felt good to laugh again, he thought.

Back at the house, nothing had changed. Dom exited Vince's car and just stood, looking up at his home. He heard Mia inside, then saw her open the door. She ran down the steps and into his arms, tears rolling down her face. He hugged her tight, not believing how much she'd grown.

He hadn't wanted her to see him in prison. He didn't want any of them to. Vince would stop by every now and again, and he'd get letters, but the thought of his friends seeing him like that…he couldn't fathom it.

"Damn Dominic, what happened to you?" she questioned, looking up at him, "You're huge. I can barely get my arms around you." she joked.

"Funny kid." he teased, ruffling her hair, earning himself a sharp smack on the arm.

"I'm eighteen Dom. I've graduated. I'm not a kid." she responded. That was yet another thing he'd missed out on, seeing his sister graduate. "Everyone's out back. Come on, we were waiting for you."

While he was gone, their grandmother had come to stay with Mia, at least for a while. Eventually, it ended up just being Mia and Letty. Letty was nineteen now.

Walking into the backyard, Dom grinned. The yard was full of people who were happy he was back. He had been wrong to worry, he knew. These people were his friends, his family. They couldn't think of him as a monster. He greeted Leon and Jessie, Hector and a few others in his general vicinity. Then he saw her.

Letty had grown up when he was gone. She'd gotten a little taller and filled out more. Her hair was longer then it used to be…he remembered asking her to keep it long. He loved her hair. She was even more beautiful then he remembered. Her eyes…when they caught his…

Of course, Letty was always one to downplay a situation. Smirking a little, she strode up to him confidently. Reaching him, she put her hands on her hips, cocked her head a bit, and looked at him. "How ya livin', Baldy?"


	21. Chapter 19Snippet

Of course, Letty was always one to downplay a situation. Smirking a little, she strode up to him confidently. Reaching him, she put her hands on her hips, cocked her head a bit, and looked at him. "How ya livin', Baldy?"

Dom just stood looking down at her for a minute, before breaking into a grin. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted her to him, and kissed her, hard. People around them whistled and made catcalls, but that didn't bother them one bit.

Setting Letty down, Dom hooked an arm over her shoulders and tilted his head down towards her ear.

"I love you, Leticia Rodriguez." he whispered.

"I never doubted that, Dom. Not once."

As the night wore on, people slowly drifted off, so that by midnight only the team was left. They sat, spread over the living room, just catching up. Two years is a long time when you've only lived for twenty or so.

The big topic that seemed to dominate the conversation was street racing. Leon and Vince had been drawn in to the illegal pastime by some friends they knew through the shop, and were eager to share what they knew with their freshly freed leader. Neither had raced yet, they were still pretty new to the scene. They'd go out a couple nights a week, meet people, watch the races, and hit on the girls.

"So what, just the two of you go?" Dom asked from his spot on the couch.

"Well yeah, man. We only just found out about this shit a little over a month ago. Wasn't sure if we should really drag everyone else out yet. Jesse's gone a few times now." Leon answered.

Dom raised an eyebrow, and the boys just sort of shrugged it off.

"Well, we don't know the crowd well yet. No way in hell was I gonna take your sister or your girl and let something go down. Fuck that man, I was looking out for them." Vince defended.

"Oh bullshit Vince, you didn't want us cock blockin' your sorry ass." Letty threw back at him, from her spot on the couch. She was sitting between Dom's legs, leaning back against his chest. He looked down at her in amusement.

Looking back up at his best friend, Dom cut the argument short. "Either way, I wanna check this out. Definitely sounds like something I wouldn't mind getting in to. When's the next race?"

Grinning a little, Vince nodded, "Alright man, probably sometime this week. It's kinda random, but we'll get ahold of some people and find out."

"I'm totally going this time." Letty added, to which Dom didn't respond immediately.

"I don't like the thought of you going when I don't even know the place."

Sitting up and turning on him, she glared at him. "What the hell Dominic! Leon and Vince have been plenty of times! They've never had anything bad happen! Besides, I'm not a child. You can't stop me. I'm going."

After returning her glare for a moment, Dom reluctantly nodded. "Fine. I'm assuming that means-" he looked up at Mia, who just smiled.

"No way are you telling ME I can't go."

Sighing, Dom just shook his head. When did everyone go and get so god damn stubborn?

A.N.-This isn't even really a chapter, it's just a very short little snippet, not even very good. I'm just trying to get the creative juices goin again with this story, so bear with me.


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